Death in Paradise star Ralf Little teases "different" Christmas special episode

"It's got a really spooky, ghostly tone."

By Justin Harp and Daniel Kilkelly

13 Dec 2022

Death in Paradise Christmas special spoilers.

Death in Paradise star Ralf Little has teased a "different" tone for the show's Christmas special episode.

The Christmas instalment is confirmed to have an eerie tone as an old case of Selwyn's comes back to haunt him following the murder of a true crime podcaster on the hunt for a missing child.

Speaking to Digital Spy ahead of the episode airing, Ralf Little dropped some hints about what fans can expect from this feature-length Christmas treat.

death in paradise stars ralf little and don warrington

Denis Guyenon/Red PlanetBBC

"It is ghostly. It's sort of an illusion, pastiche, possible slightly ghost story," he teased. "The whole thing has this slightly spooky tone and it pays off really well. It's a special – being a Christmas special, we're freer to do things that are tonally more adventurous. It's a little bit special, so we're treating the fans to something different.

"It's 90 minutes long, so we get more time to explore the characters and develop ideas. We all really loved it.

"It's also the first episode that we filmed, so it's a little bit weird walking around the island wearing Christmas hats! It'd be weird anyway, but especially in July in searing heat!

"You're going to absolutely love it – it's got a really spooky, ghostly tone."

death in paradise christmas special 2022

BBC

Don Warrington likewise compared Death in Paradise's festive offering to a traditional Christmas ghost story, which is in and of itself, quite different from the show's procedural format.

"It's a tradition at Christmas that you get a ghost story," he said. "That's what we've done – we've given the audience a ghost story with a twist that is to do with Death in Paradise. We've taken a new look at a very traditional idea, which I think is exciting and different, really.

"Last year it was a pretty straightforward Christmas that we did. This year, we've taken a slightly Dickensian tone – of Christmas past."

Co-star Shantol Jackson added: "I was just excited that I was part of this Christmas special. I wasn't an angel – I was promised I'd be an angel because everyone got to dress up last year except me, and I wanted to dress up! But it's fine, it's a lovely story and it's quite traditional.

ralf little as di neville parker, shantol jackson as naomi thomas, death in paradise, season 11 episode 8

BBC

"Like Don said, there are ghost stories and Christmas carols, which we love at Christmas. We have a lovely guest cast. We had the opportunity to spend a lot of time telling the story and exploring the different characters, because of course it's 90 minutes. I think this will be a very fun watch."

Tahj Miles stopped short of confirming or denying whether his character Officer Marlon Pryce will don an elf suit, but he did say: "For Marlon, it's business as usual. He's still got a lot to learn in the job from whoever's around him.

"He's still trying to impress everyone in any way he can and show people that he's the right person for the job. He loves Christmas and you'll see him enjoying himself while under the pressure of the job."

Death in Paradise returns on Boxing Day on BBC One followed by series 12 from January 6, 2023. A spin-off, Beyond Paradise, is in production.