Why was this a role you wanted to play?

I’d never been to Australia before, and so when this came up and obviously being a Brit and aware of Death in Paradise, I wanted to do it. My family watch Death in Paradise non-stop. Also, the character is very similar to who I am – a tubby bloke from England who gets very excited about living in Australia.

Who is Colin Cartwright and where does he fit into the story?

Colin is the heart of the community. He’s a police officer. He’s been in Dolphin Cove for about five years. He loves the community. He loves the sense of togetherness and belonging. I think it’s something that he probably didn’t have back in England. They’ve really accepted him here. They love him. He’s got a slightly different accent, but you know, he pulls his sleeves up, literally and metaphorically, and he just gets stuck in.

How does Colin respond to Mackenzie’s arrival?

At first there’s a little bit of friction between them, because essentially, he wants her position. Colin’s not a bad police officer, but Mackenzie is just that little bit better, having probably had more experience in the policing game. A common theme is that they want to solve these crimes, so they have to work together and put any differences aside.

What makes Colin a good cop?

The fact that he is the beating heart of the community. People trust him. I think he’s got a little bit of intuition, not a huge amount, but there is a little bit of, you know, there are certain things that he says, especially later on, where Mackenzie thinks, oh, actually, he’s not such a bad cop.

Will fans of Death in Paradise enjoy Return to Paradise?

I think any fans of Death in Paradise will love Return to Paradise because it’s a part of that world. There is a death every week, which is suspicious, isn’t it? And also you fall in love with paradise. I think every time you watch Death in Paradise or Beyond Paradise, you fall in love with those locations, and it makes you want to live there, although, you know, the chance of being murdered is quite high. These locations are unbelievable. The beaches in Australia are just out of this world. You’ve got that lovely little whodunit every single week, you know that someone’s going to get murdered, and at the end of it, you know that you’ll find out who is responsible and that’s what people love about the show.

Whenever there’s something Australian on TV, Brits will absolutely consume it. I think they fantasise about having that life on those beaches.

What was your favourite scene to film?

My favourite moment, without a shadow of a doubt, was one of my first scenes with Glenn Strong, played by Tai Hara, where he comes out of the sea in a wetsuit, and I have to ‘act’ like I’m kind of obsessed with him, and mesmerized by him. I kept mucking up my lines just to keep watching him come in and out of the sea again.

How have you enjoyed working with Anna Samson?

She’s amazing. Anna and Mackenzie are two very different people, and it’s really interesting because on camera, Mackenzie puts people’s noses out of joint, and sometimes isn’t the nicest person to Colin, but off camera, we have a lovely relationship, and we get on really well. We would drive in to work together and we did things socially together. She’s a brilliant actor so when they called action and she had to be horrible to me, it would take me a little while to remember it was not Anna, it’s Mackenzie.

What have you loved about being on location in Australia?

Getting up very early and going for swims in those ocean pools – sometimes with Tai, sometimes with Aaron. Oh my sweet days – I wasn’t aware these things existed.

Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie Clarke, an Australian ex-pat who’s made a name for herself in the London Metropolitan Police Service, working under former Detective Inspector Jack Mooney, for cracking uncrackable murder cases. When she is framed for staging evidence, Mackenzie returns to Australia, back to the last place she ever wanted to be – her hometown of Dolphin Cove. Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex- fiancée Glenn at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here. But with no other job options, and a compulsion for solving the mystery no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station. Once a case lands on her desk, she can’t rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove.

All episodes on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Friday 22 November, and airing weekly on BBC One from 8pm that night. Add to your Watchlist on iPlayer now.

Watch Return to Paradise on BBC iPlayer ABOVE

Return to Paradise is the new Australia-set spin-off series from the global smash-hit murder mystery Death in Paradise.

Filmed at stunning locations across Sydney and the idyllic Illawarra coastal region, the intriguing and entertaining whodunit six-part series has a distinctively Australian flare, while playing homage to the Death in Paradise universe. The series is produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia with Red Planet Pictures for the ABC in association with the BBC.