British “cosy crime” drama Death In Paradise has been given the quirky Aussie treatment in the spin-off Return To Paradise – and a lot of the comic relief is supplied by former Wentworth star Celia Ireland.
After a five-year break from TV, the actress plays Reggie Rocco, a retired high-school teacher in the fictional town of Dolphin Cove, who’s now working as a police volunteer – although whether her new career move is driven by a passion for justice or a longing for local gossip is anyone’s guess!
“She’s a bit of a stickybeak, a bit of a nosy parker,” Celia, 58, says with a laugh. “She’s got her finger on the pulse in terms of the history of the town, the loyalties, and bits and pieces about different personalities of people in Dolphin Cove.”
Despite having zero police training and being a little more chatty than straitlaced lead detective Mackenzie Clarke (played by Home And Away’s Anna Samson) would like, Reggie proves herself pretty handy at solving crimes.
For example, when a wellness influencer’s partner suddenly dies during a fun run, despite being of perfect health, Mack is quick to assume he may have been poisoned, so Reggie teams up with Constable Felix Williamson (Mystery Road’s Aaron McGrath) on some rather mundane grunt work, making calls and picking up paper cups at the run site.
Reggie complains that she’s like “a glorified street sweeper” and longs for more excitement. But, of course, the work she and Felix do leads Mack to a breakthrough on the baffling case.
“She’s warm-hearted, a bit out-there and kind of quirky. But when it comes to piecing things together, she’s actually quite clued up,” Celia says of Reggie.
The actress won a legion of fans thanks to her award-winning turn as alcoholic inmate Liz Birdsworth in seven of the eight seasons of the gritty prison drama Wentworth, for which she still attends fan conventions around the world. She feels thrilled to be working on another series with global appeal.
“Death In Paradise has that legacy behind it. I do think because of the success of Home And Away, Neighbours and even Wentworth, UK viewers love Aussie stuff,” says Celia. The star had a recurring role as Connie Callahan in Home And Away. “It would be lovely if it goes well and we get to do it again. It’d be really gorgeous.”
Born in Newcastle, Celia made her TV debut in Police Rescue in 1992. Then, she went on to star in Water Rats, All Saints, McLeod’s Daughters and Packed To The Rafters. She also acted alongside Cate Blanchett in the movie Thank God He Met Lizzie. And later, opposite Ronan Keating in the rom-com Goddess.
After half a decade away from the small screen, the star had a blast filming on the South Coast of New South Wales, where Celia says the cast and crew of Return To Paradise became really close.
“I don’t know if it’s maternal, but I’m a bit like a mum,” she shares. “What happens is you develop a family or at least become mates. You get to know everybody, their histories and their families. They’re not just colleagues. I love that part of it.”
As for the cosy-crime genre, Celia admits to being more of a reality TV junkie. She didn’t watch Death In Paradise as research. However, she can totally understand the appeal of curling up on the sofa and enjoying a mystery without the gore.
“It’s soft crime with a bit of comedy around the corner. There seems to be a real market for that. Vera does it so well – and Midsomer Murders. Everyone seems to love it. It’s not too hard on the brain!”
Return To Paradise screens 8.30pm Mondays on Sky’s BBC First.
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