Following in the footsteps of Midsomer Murders, Vera and The Brokenwood Mysteries comes a new Aussie entry into the increasingly popular “cosy crime” genre – Return To Paradise, a spin-off of the cult British whodunnit franchise Death In Paradise.
And they couldn’t have found a more excited lead actress than former soap star Anna Samson, who confesses, “I grew up reading Agatha Christie and watching Agatha Christie, and also procedurals and murder-mysteries on the BBC. I’m a fan of the genre. It has always left me feeling intrigued.”
Being cast as the lead detective in Return To Paradise is a big step up from playing personal trainer Mia Anderson on Home And Away.
Describing the roles as “chalk and cheese”, the 34-year-old says, “It’s a very different character. I’m so excited about this show. I’m the first female lead in the franchise. It just feels like the ‘Paraverse’ is really expanding.”
Anna, who moved to Australia from England in her early teens, plays Detective Inspector Mackenzie Clarke, a prickly expat cop who returns to her fictional coastal hometown of Dolphin Cove after working in London’s Metropolitan Police for six years.
“I love Mackenzie and think she’s actually teaching me quite a lot,” she says of her on-screen alter ego. “She’s a character who doesn’t particularly worry if people like her. She’ll leave a conversation if she finds it boring. She’d also leave a party if she found it boring and wouldn’t say goodbye to anyone. Having that upfront-ness is very liberating for a woman.”
Anna admits she does find it hard to switch off after being in character all day.
“I take her home with me a bit,” she says. “There’s so much preparation to do, so the job doesn’t stop when the shoot day ends. I watched a lot of the original BBC production to try to understand the tone of comedy meeting the darker side of humanity.
“It’s an all-consuming job, but it’s brilliant to have a role like this. It’s rare that these types of parts come along.”
The ensemble cast is bolstered by Catherine McClements (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries) as Mackenzie’s boss and former mother-in-law-to-be, Tai Hara (Home And Away) as her rather dreamy ex-fiancé Glenn and Celia Ireland (Wentworth) as a nosy police volunteer.
Anna, who has also appeared in Offspring, Winners & Losers and The Doctor Blake Mysteries, says her co-stars are a huge part of why she loves the new role so much.
“One of the delights of the show is the people I’m working with,” she enthuses. “The cast is brilliant – brilliant actors, brilliant humans, brilliant ensemble players, brilliant support… Because I’m in so much of the show, it’s very special to be held by such kind, generous, powerhouses of actors. And we have some of the cream of the crop of Australian actors coming in as guest stars. Every time one comes on, I feel so impressed.”
While the series is set in a tiny tropical paradise, it’s actually filmed in Wollongong and Sydney, so cast and crew had to contend with rather wet conditions when it filmed earlier this year. But for a UK native, that was nothing new.
“I love being on location because it’s a beautiful part of the world,” shares Anna. “Actually, I don’t mind the rain. Like my character, I’m a big fan of London – it’s my favourite city in the world and I never tire of it. You have to like the rain to love London.”
So is a return to the land of her birth on the cards in the future?
“I’d love to be in the UK,” Anna says. “There are a lot of family and friends there. The theatre scene in London is something that appeals to me greatly. But I have a very beautiful, happy life in Australia as well. We’ve got aeroplanes – I could do both!”
Return To Paradise screens 8.30pm Mondays on Sky’s BBC First.
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