Death In Paradise star Nina Wadia walked off set after 'hideous' ordeal

Don Warrington doesn't know why Death in Paradise is a success

Nina Wadia, who made a guest appearance in the ninth season of Death in Paradise as Anna Masani, love-interest to former Detective Inspector Jack Mooney (played by Ardal O'Hanlon), has shared some behind-the-scenes secrets.

The actress featured in four episodes before her character left the picturesque Saint Marie alone, despite inviting Jack to travel the globe with her. This episode is set to be replayed on Friday, 19 July on BBC One. However, filming in the tropical paradise of Guadeloupe wasn't all plain sailing, as the former EastEnders star revealed why she had to take a temporary break from the set.

During a recent episode of Channel 4's Countdown, Nina confessed: "It is a dream job. You get to bathe in the sunshine and swim in the sea and the actual job is beautiful."

She further added: "It's fantastic and actors fight over getting this job because it means you're looking at something you don't usually get to look at and you're getting paid to look at it."

"You do a little bit of acting in-between everything else," she continued, before unveiling an unexpected island secret that BBC bosses didn't warn her about. "What they don't tell you about is Scolopendras. They are the most hideous creatures. They can grow up to almost a metre long," reports OK!.

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Nina Wadia and Ardal O'Hanlon (Image: Red Planet/Denis Guyenon)

She likened them to "centipedes with scorpion front bits. They're really Jurassic."

The actress recounted her own harrowing experience, recalling a time she refused to continue filming after a creepy-crawly made an unwelcome appearance. "I had the misfortune of one running over my foot at one point during filming and it took me a while to get back onto the set," Nina admitted.

She expressed her unease about the local wildlife in the Caribbean, warning: "They can bite. They can sting you very badly and you have to be taken to hospital. I also wasn't expecting the occasional flying cockroach in my bedroom," she elaborated, mentioning that crabs were frequent uninvited guests at dinner.

Nina as Zainab Masood in EastEnders (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20240709.min.js"

In contrast, Executive Producer Tim Key has downplayed the threat posed by the critters on set. He has previously remarked: "They are unpleasant but they're not dangerous - there's nothing there that is really dangerous. Someone got stung by a tiny one and he said it was the most painful one he'd ever had."

Anna Masani had hoped that former Detective Inspector Jack Mooney would depart Saint Marie with her, but instead, he chose to return to London with his daughter, Siobhan (Grace Stone). Ralf Little succeeded Ardal O'Hanlon as DI Neville Parker, a role he held for four seasons before stepping down last year.

The show later announced that Don Gilet would step in as the new detective on the island, set to make his debut in the upcoming feature-length Christmas special slated for December 2024.

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Death in Paradise cast (Image: Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)

Death In Paradise star Nina Wadia walked off set after 'hideous' ordeal

Death In Paradise star Nina Wadia walked off set after 'hideous' ordeal

Death In Paradise star Nina Wadia walked off set after 'hideous' ordeal

Death In Paradise star Nina Wadia walked off set after 'hideous' ordeal

Death In Paradise star Nina Wadia walked off set after 'hideous' ordeal