AS viewers await the return of Death in Paradise, one of the show’s stars has revealed why he chose to return to idyllic murder hot spot.
Tobi Bakare starred as Sergeant JP Hooper for seven years before he decided to leave the tropical paradise of ‘Saint Marie’ for good in 2021.
On screen JP was promoted within the police and left friends and colleagues behind, but off camera Tobi had done a lot of internal soul searching about his decision to go.
However, fans will be excited to see his familiar face once again as he pops up to star in an episode in the new series of Death in Paradise, which starts tonight.
Tobi is a man of faith and he previously said that a preacher in Guadalope, where the series is filmed, had helped him realise his time playing the likeable sergeant full time was up.
He and his family had committed so much time to being out in the Caribbean that Tobi felt he needed to shift his focus.
Speaking to The Sun ahead of the series launch Tobi said: “There’s different types of seeds. You have a career, you have your money, you have your family, you have your businesses, you have whatever.
“And sometimes you just got to water a particular seed a little bit more. And I’m still watering the seed of family.”
Having spent time away, when the call came to return, Tobi revealed that the decision to come back took some time to make.
He said: “I had to sit with it and pray on it, you know, sometimes when you move away from something, to go back to it, it’s like, you have to go, am I trying to rekindle an old flame, you know?
“But the truth is, I don’t think Death in Paradise is an old flame to me. I think it’s a constant flame. Sometimes it burns brightly, sometimes burns a bit more dimly, but it’s quite constant.
“So, coming back, it was not an easy decision because I had actually generally decided not to work that far out of the UK.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Death in Paradise’s JP Hooper is offered a promotion away from Saint Marie but he turns it down” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6232396588001″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]But it seems that the combination of the stunning location and the team on location won Tobi around.
He said: “It’s a beautiful island. It’s hard to not miss the island and this show it’s got one of the most amazing production companies, Red Planet.
“They know how to get that out of the actors that they bring on board…And so that line, I think, will always be open, whether it’s, whether I go in it or not, I don’t know, but that line is always gonna be open.”
For fans this will be a chance to see how Tobi and his character take to the new DI Morgan, played by Don Gilet.
Speaking of the incoming detective Tobi said: “You know what Don Gilet reminds me of? Being in a pub in Finsbury Park watching Arsenal play.
“I just get that vibe, you know what I mean? The dress, the energy, all of it. And I think he plays the character just in a way that’s so relatable.
“He does such a great job. I mean, he produces these moments of, these really subtle moments of comedy, but it comes out of the familiarity.”
As someone who’s seen the show’s famous stars like Ralf Little and Ardal O’Hanlon come and go, Tobi is sure that the series still has a bright future.
He mused: “The show itself always survives. I think they’ve tapped into a formula that they can constantly work.
“And it’s exciting to see, sometimes when you’re backed into a corner, it’s exciting to see what you’ve come up with to bring up something new and fresh. So I think it can definitely survive.”
Death In Paradise returns tonight on BBC One at 9pm and will be available on BBC Iplayer
