How to Watch UK TV Channels Outside of the UK? I'll give you a simple trick that will explain how to watch UK TV channels live abroad. Now you can watch all of your favorite UK TV programmes while you are away from home without VPN with 1Fakt.com
- Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.co.uk
The lovable detectives in Death In Paradise – from Ben Miller’s uptight Richard Poole to Kris Marshall’s bumbling Humphrey Goodman and Ralf Little’s hypochondriac Neville Parker – have been a key part of the show’s success.
So it was a surprise when hit Australian spin-off Return To Paradise, set in the fictional seaside town of Dolphin Cove in New South Wales, bucked that trend with abrasive and distinctly unlikeable detective Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Clarke in the lead – but it hasn’t put viewers off.
'She doesn’t have to be palatable or pleasant or small or sweet to be lovable, and audiences have taken to her,’ says Anna Samson, 35, who plays her.
'I think that proves women don’t have to be all these things to be in a central role on TV. She doesn’t always make it easy to be around her.
'And I think that’s a testament to what we maybe should value in one another – who we are, what we try to do in the world, rather than how easy it is to hang out with us.'
The show has charmed viewers in both the UK and Australia, where in August it beat Sam Neill’s The Twelve to scoop the Best Drama prize at the prestigious Logie Awards, and as it returns later this month for a second series Mack is wrestling with her feelings for former fiancé Glenn (Tai Hara).
In the first series she’d just returned from London, where she’d been working with Ardal O’Hanlon’s Death In Paradise character DI Jack Mooney after jilting Glenn and fleeing halfway across the world.
Now she’s back and Glenn’s due to marry someone else, should Mack try to persuade him to give their relationship another try?
'I think she worries she’s not good for him. But matters of the human heart aren’t that simple, and we don’t always do what we should do,' says Anna.
It promises a will-they-won’t-they storyline that’s set to tantalise fans in the coming weeks.
Incredibly, Anna doesn’t have a TV at home. 'I’m a bit of a nerd,' she says. 'It’s weird to be on TV and not own a TV. But I think it’s nice. Not caring what I physically look like as Mackenzie is a wonderful release, because she doesn’t worry about how she looks.'
It’s a release because back in 2021 Anna’s appearance became the topic of vicious debate when she was cast as Mia Anderson in Aussie soap Home And Away.
She was called ‘ugly’ and ‘vile’ by trolls on social media, leading Anna to release a statement addressing the abusers.
'People still feel they have the right to shame, comment on and harass women about their appearance,' it read.
'It’s part of a culture of cowardice, cruelly commenting on our weight loss or gain, our faces, our choices, our voices. You are guilty of contributing to a very dangerous culture.'
Today she says it was a hard decision. 'You never know if it’s the right thing to do. But basically we have to not care, because we’re not going to please everyone.'
A few months after Anna’s arrival on Home And Away, news broke that she’d joined other actresses in accusing former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan of sexual harassment.
Her allegation dated back to her 2015 appearance in his hit series The Doctor Blake Mysteries, when he was said to have kept his hand on her buttock while filming a scene.
Again, Anna spent time weighing up whether to speak up. ‘Saying anything controversial should be a tough decision,’ she says. McLachlan refuted the claims against him, but later dropped a defamation suit he’d filed against others.
Playing Mack is a dream come true for Anna, who was born in England then spent her early years in Nigeria before the family relocated to Sydney. ‘I think I’ve wanted to be a detective on the BBC since I was about four,’ she laughs.
And the icing on the cake would be getting together with her Death In Paradise eers Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Ardal O’Hanlon, Ralf Little and Don Gilet.
‘I want the other detectives to make an appearance. They’re all odd in their own unique way… that would be a pretty intense dinner party,’ she laughs. ‘But having the actors who play them for dinner? I think that would be a lot of fun.’
The new series of Return To Paradise starts on Friday October 31, 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.