Meet the cast of Death in Paradise series 9
The 2020 series of Death in Paradise is packed full of big-name guest stars
Episode 1 guest stars
Samuel West plays Donald McCormack
Who is Donald McCormack? Donald inherited the family distillery on the island, but business is bad and he's going broke.
What else has Samuel West been in? Samuel West was born into a family of actors; his parents are actually Timothy West and Prunella Scales. He's made a career as theatre director, narrator, and actor with credits including Howards End, Notting Hill, Suffragette, On Chesil Beach, Darkest Hour (as Anthony Eden), The Crown (as Anthony Blunt), and Mr Selfridge.
Elliot Cowan plays Aaron McCormack
Who is Aaron McCormack? Donald's estranged younger brother, who has always resented that their father left the distillery solely to his eldest son. Since then, Aaron has become a successful businessman in his own right – as owner of an airline – and has a luxury villa and a beautiful wife. But on New Year's Eve 2019, he comes home to find his wife dead and a message scrawled on the floor in lipstick.
What else has Elliot Cowan been in? Major roles have included King Henry Tudor in The Spanish Princess, Daron-Vex in Krypton, Tom Wilson in Innocent, Ptolemy in Alexander, Lorenzo de' Medici in Da Vinci's Demons, and Mr Darcy in the 2008 movie Lost in Austen.
Nell Hudson plays Tabitha
Who is Tabitha? An administrative assistant at the airline who works closely with Aaron McCormack.
What else has Nell Hudson been in? Her two most high-profile roles as Nancy Skerrett in Victoria and Laoghaire in Outlander. Aside from these, she's played Charlotte Humphreys in Informer and guest-starred in an episode of Call the Midwife.
Adrian Edmondson plays Charles
Who is Charles? An accountant, and a colleague/friend of Donald McCormack who is with him on New Year's Eve.
What else has Adrian Edmondson been in? Most recently, Adrian Edmondson has starred as Daniel Cook in EastEnders and Superintendent Cliff Walker in Bancroft. You may also remember him as nasty dad William from the mini-series Cheat, or as Max Dennis from Summer of Rockets, or as Captain Peavy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Back in the eighties, Edmondson first rose to fame as Vyvyan in The Young Ones.
Alex Gaumond plays Oscar Samuel
Who is Oscar Samuel? A local man with a drinking problem and a criminal record.
What else has Alex Gaumond been in? The Canadian actor, who was born in Montreal, is best-known for starring on the West End stage – taking on productions including Legally Blonde, Matilda (as Miss Trunchbull), and We Will Rock You. He's had a handful of TV and movie acting roles, too: Mark Kasdan in Hampstead, André in My Dinner with Hervé, and a waitor in The Hustle.