Irish actor Ardal O’Hanlon has opened up about Danny John-Jules’ sudden exit from Death in Paradise – and revealed the entire cast is “dispensable”.
Danny played Officer Dwayne Myers for seven series of the hit BBC crime drama, but in April he announced his departure and confirmed he would not be in series eight.
Ardal, best known to many as Dougal from ’90s sitcom Father Ted, plays DI Jack Mooney in Death in Paradise and featured alongside Danny for the last two seasons.
Read more: Danny John-Jules ‘accuses BBC of bullying him’
In a conversation with Digital Spy, Ardal said: “We’re all dispensable. When I heard that Danny was leaving, I thought, ‘Hmm. How will that play? How will the audience take that?’
“Because he’s a very popular character in the show, and he’s been there since the start as well, so there’s that.”
But Ardal insisted the show must go on and admitted that Death in Paradise has survived major cast changes before.
Red Dwarf actor Danny was among the celeb line-up in the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing.
But his time on the show was turbulent, and he found himself embroiled in accusations of bullying that he and even his pro dance partner Amy Dowden, who was at the centre of it all, firmly denied.
Danny claimed to be the victim of a stitch-up and his wife, Petula Langlais, was right behind him, accusing the show of “throwing him under the bus”.
After being eliminated during the Blackpool week, Danny was absent from a scheduled appearance on spin-off show It Takes Two, leaving a tearful Amy alone on the sofa.
But the two managed to reunite for the Strictly finale and perform together one last time.
Death in Paradise might struggle to replace fan favourite Officer Dwayne Myers, but the new series will nevertheless welcome a fresh face to its cast.
Actress Shyko Amos is joining the show as Saint Marie Police’s newest recruit and niece of the police commissioner, Ruby Patterson.
Read more: Strictly’s Danny John Jules hits out at fellow celebrities
Shyko told Digital Spy she is nervous as she wonders what fans will think.
She said: “To replace a character that is so loved on the show… on one level you’re like, ‘Oh God, I’ve got to fill these massive shoes of somebody that the audience just adored’.”
But speaking further, Shyko said she’s confident that, as her character is the total opposite to Danny’s, she’ll be able to pull it off.
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