Despite the unbearable Caribbean heat, Death in Paradise star Kris Marshall has spent the last four years sweltering away in a linen jacket. There's certain rules you have to put up with when you're playing DI Humphrey Goodman, Saint Marie's resident cop.

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But now terrible news has reached him: his replacement Ardal O'Hanlon, who is taking over the job as DI Jack Mooney when Marshall hands on the baton in Thursday's episode, is somehow getting away with a more casual look on set in Guadeloupe.

"I wasn't there when he got his proper cop feet under the table, but I am hearing worrying talk from Guadeloupe that he was not wearing a jacket," he tells the new edition of Radio Times.

"Which upsets me greatly – we can all do it without a jacket. That way, it's just easy. Then it really is just a holiday."

Marshall has provided his successor with some tips about surviving filming, even though O'Hanlon has adopted a more weather-appropriate look (think short-sleeved shirts paired with ties).

"I gave Ardal the same advice that Ben [Miller] gave to me, actually," he said, echoing the words of Death in Paradise's first lead actor.

"When you're filming the big wrapping-up scene at the end, make sure you know your lines backwards. because we film it all in one day and otherwise the heat starts to get to you.

Secondly, always do your shots first in the morning, before the heat gets too much. Then, after lunch, they turn the cameras on to the guest actors and you can watch them fry!"

What can we expect from DI Jack Mooney?

"Well, he's Irish, for starters," Marshall says. "So that makes a bit of a difference. His character's a lot more anecdotal, so the way he goes about things is different. He's also been recently widowed – and he has a daughter in her early 20s. So that's a whole different dynamic."

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You can read the full interview in this week's Radio Times – available in shops and on the newsstand from Tuesday 7th February

Authors

Eleanor Bley GriffithsDrama Editor, RadioTimes.com
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