Death in Paradise Christmas special answers big mystery about DI Mervin Wilson

The DI was heading home early when his superior accosted him after the island failed to match his expectations, or so he said.

But his return trip was put on hold while he set about trying to understand how the same gun could have been used in multiple locations at the same time.

And that wasn't the only mystery hanging over the narrative.

Running alongside the central case was a big question mark surrounding Mervin's backstory, which Selwyn quickly cottoned on to.

"How did you end up here, in Saint Marie?" he asked him.

Mervin was cagey.

"A mate recommended it, no other reason than that, really," he responded.

But Selwyn wasn't satisfied with his answer.

Read more:

• Don Gilet on Death in Paradise: 'Watching Kris do the Poirot speech, I thought… how would I do that?'
• Death in Paradise newcomer Don Gilet addresses casting of first Black lead

"You haven't warmed to the island?" he probed.

Again, Mervin tried to shut down his questioning.

"I just wasn't feeling it," he replied. "Some places you take to them, some you don't."

Again, Selwyn attempted to coax the truth out of him.

"And that's why you decided to leave early?" he asked, teasingly.

But when a woman accused Mervin of being the killer after spotting him lurking outside the home of a local who dresses up as Father Christmas for a supermarket, Selwyn was forced to press Mervin on what he was concealing, which eventually elicited a confession.

The detective had travelled all the way to Saint Marie to meet his mother for the first time. Mervin believed he'd located her house – the one he was loitering outside of – and had been working up the courage to knock on her door.

But nerves got the better of him and he came to the conclusion that it was all a big mistake, prompting him to depart early.

Yet while he didn't end up leaving as planned, Mervin still didn't get to meet his mother, because she had died a few months earlier, news which he received from one of her neighbours after he went back to the house.

"It's all good. I'm fine, really," he later said to Selwyn. "I didn't actually know her, so nothing's changed as far as I'm concerned."

But he was visibly disheartened by the development.

"I know you feel this island doesn't offer as much as it did when you arrived, but is that a reason to leave?" Selwyn said.

"Perhaps by getting to know Saint Marie, the island where your mother spent her life, you might get to know a little of her. "

But while Mervin initial doubled down on leaving, the commissioner's words clearly had an impact on him – because he will, of course, be staying, as the show's new lead.

And as is tradition, he will, in time, grow to appreciate the Caribbean island and its people, despite his initial resistance – and not just because of its beauty and soul, but because it is a part of him, even if it doesn't yet feel that way.

Death in Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.