Jason Manford in Death in Paradise season 10
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Death in Paradise: Jason Manford is joining series 10 cast, BBC confirms

The BBC drama is returning for a 10th series

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Death in Paradise has announced that Jason Manford will star in the latest series.

Although, show bosses could have been slightly kinder in the way they described him.

As the BBC One crime drama teased the guest stars for its upcoming season on Twitter, it referred to the comedian as a “comedian/singing hedgehog”.

It’s a reference to his karaoke performances on ITV’s The Masked Singer.

Jason Manford on the red carpet
Jason Manford is set to appear in Death in Paradise (Credit: Splash News)

What has Jason Manford said about Death in Paradise?

The comic/spiky singer has long been rumoured to appear.

In September, he tweeted a photo of himself and former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher on a plane.

In a tweet that he later deleted he added: “It’s Kelvin Fletcher and we’re off to Guadeloupe to film Death in Paradise”.

Jason Manford still from Death in Paradise
Jason will appear in series 10 of the show (Credit: BBC)

Who are the other guest stars?

Jason Manford is just one of a number of names that have been confirmed for the 10th series.

Read more: Professor T on ITV: Filming starts on new Ben Miller crime drama

He’ll be joined by Shalisha James-Davis, an up-and-coming actress who has appeared in Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You and Amazon’s Alex Rider.

I’m flying with this mystery fella to a mystery destination but who is it and where am I going?

Ex-Casualty and Strictly Come Dancing star Patrick Robinson will also star, following on from a recent role in Sitting in Limbo, the powerful BBC One drama about the Windrush scandal.

Death in Paradise: new stars Patrick Robinson and Shalisha James-Davis on set
New stars Patrick Robinson and Shalisha James-Davis on set (Credit: BBC)

Kelvin Fletcher confimed his appearance on Instagram, so expect to see the former Woolpack regular turning up on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, too.

So far, none of the specific roles the actors will play have yet been announced.

Who is leaving the show?

However, a rotating cast of characters is nothing new for Death in Paradise.

Long-time lead Ardal O’ Hanlon was replaced on Death in Paradise by Ralf Little earlier this year. It made Little’s DI Neville Parker the fourth main detective on the show in 10 seasons.

This series will also see the absence of Shyko Amos, who previously played Officer Ruby Patterson.

And there will no longer be a role for DS Madelaine Dumas, played by Aude Legastelois, after she made her final appearance in season nine.

Read more: Kelvin Fletcher shows off ripped body in topless video from Death In Paradise set

However, in a twist that’s bound to please long-running fans, she’ll be replaced by the character that she once took over from.

Josephine Jobert, who played Sergeant Florence Cassell for four series, was succeeded by Legastelois in season eight. But in July, it was confirmed that she would be returning to the show.

However, it’s not clear how long she’ll be featuring in the show for.

When a fan asked via Instagram whether she’d be a permanent fixture, she responded: “Permanently? I don’t know yet. And I appear very early in the episodes.”

Poster

Death in Paradise will return to BBC One in 2021. 

What do you think of the cast changes? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor