Les Dennis is joining the cast of Death in Paradise for the upcoming Christmas special – and the former Family Fortunes host has admitted he was very nervous about shooting his scenes for the episode.
But Dennis – whose character is a clairvoyant named Danny Sheridan – revealed to RadioTimes.com and other press that the rest of the cast was so welcoming that his anxieties were soon put to rest.
“My first scene was probably my biggest scene on the day and I was very nervous about going in and being with all these people who were already regulars,” he said.
“And it’s hot. You’re filming in heat and thinking, ‘I’ve got to get this right, I’ve got to get this right,’ because I had a lot of the dialogue in it. So I was a little nervous.
“But the cast was so welcoming. It wasn’t just that we would film in the day and then they’d all go back to their homes. We all met up in the evenings and socialised, so a lovely, delightful job to do.
“And I only had two weeks there, but I think they had the whole summer, so I was very envious when I left and came back home.”
Although spending a couple of weeks filming in the sun of the Guadeloupe Islands might sound like a dream, Dennis added that working in such scorching heat can also be “challenging.”
“The actors on that show – it looks like they’re cool, but we are working in intense heat,” he said.
“Before a scene, they’re putting chamois leather on your head and round your neck and making sure that you’re not sweating. And then when the take happens, you look cool and fine, but between that, it can get pretty hot.”
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Speaking more specifically about the events of the episode, he teased that it was a “really interesting story” about a cold case from the past – which would be sure to keep audiences on the edge of their seats throughout.
“It’s a story that keeps you guessing and I loved that,” he continued. “And that’s the fun of watching this show as an audience member. You say, ‘I think it’s him, it’s her.’ You go down that amateur sleuth route yourself. We keep you guessing.”
Additional reporting by Abby Robinson.
The Death in Paradise 2022 Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Boxing Day, 26th December, with previous episodes available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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