Death in Paradise spin-off Return to Paradise has welcomed back Mackenzie Clarke actress Anna Samson for series two
09:37, 14 Nov 2025Updated 09:38, 14 Nov 2025
Return to Paradise star Anna Samson, who portrays Mackenzie Clarke in the Australian Death in Paradise spin-off, has discussed her return for the second series and drawn comparisons between her character and another beloved detective from the franchise.
When questioned about the parallels between her character and Kris Marshall's Humphrey Goodman, particularly their shared "awkward" qualities, Anna responded enthusiastically: "That is a great compliment.
"I reference Kris Marshall's interviews quite a lot because I've watched the show for the acting and those detectives.
"But I also watch how they speak about the show, their insights into the show, because it's useful."
She added, "There's that information available to me, so I'll use it to give myself as much as I can to play this role. And I find what Kris Marshall says in interviews about the genre, the show, the writing, the characters, very, very clever," reports the Express.
"He's very smart, and he's very correct in a lot of the things he says about making a show like this, and I try not to steal too many of them for interviews, because it will be very obvious, but I just agree with him a lot on what it means to make this show and how to make this show. So I take that as a great compliment."
In a delightful nod to Death in Paradise, the first series of its Australian spin-off saw Mack's entrance mirroring that of Detective Richard Poole, portrayed by Ben Miller, as she lugged her suitcase along the beach.
Viewers were over the moon to discover that Ardal O'Hanlon had reprised his role as Jack Mooney in Return to Paradise, often making appearances via video link from London.
Anna also voiced her eagerness to collaborate with other detectives on the show and expressed her wish to dine with them.
"I am constantly trying to get those other detectives somewhere in the show... out for dinner, something," the actress revealed.
"I am a fan of them, but I feel like I could pretend to be cool, because I'm also a detective in the show, so I wouldn't feel like such a fan girl.
"It's like a really good way of just hanging out with them, because, you know, we're all detectives on the show, when really it's just because I want to meet them."
Return to Paradise is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.