Death in Paradise star Don Gilet’s most controversial moments from car crash One Show interview to EastEnders complaints
DON Gilet has been named as the new Death in Paradise leading man after a long history in the limelight for other roles.
Fans have welcomed the soap star to the show with excitement, as they were dying to know who would step up to fill Ralf Little’s shoes.
While he has a clean slate when it comes to playing Detective Inspector Mervin WiIson, the actor has previously faced controversy for his role in EastEnders.
Don also ran into problems during interviews on The One Show and This Morning, getting on the wrong side of Alex Jones and Philip Schofield.
Ahead of his debut during the Death in Paradise Christmas special, here is a list of the disputes Don has been involved in to date.
EastEnders Murders
The actor is best known for starring in EastEnders as Pentecostal preacher Lucas Johnson, who went on a killing spree that saw him kill five people in Walford.
His ex wife Tina faced one of the most gruesome deaths, as the man of the cloth impaled her on a rake.
Lucas then went on to frame his wife Denise for his sick murders before faking her suicide and keeping her locked in a basement for months.
Christian viewers were left fuming that their religion was being portrayed in a negative light on the soap, and over 100 complained about the storyline to the BBC.
Don publicly defended the choices made by the show’s writers, telling BBC Newsbeat: “It’s not promoting or demoting Christianity, this guy is just not very well.
“I know a few people are upset by it, but if you actually watch the show and invest in the story it’s not about religion.
“It’s about one man’s warped view of life and he could have chosen any view to soak his madness into.”
The dangerous character got sentenced to prison for life after his wife managed to escape from the basement he had her locked in and reveal his crimes.
Tension on This Morning
The actor made an appearance on the ITV programme to discuss crime drama The Loch when he made a comment that left Philip Schofield stunned.
Holly Willoughby and Philip jokingly brought mosquito hats on set to wear as they asked the cast questions about the show, because Scotland is full of the pesky insects.
But Don mistook the props for something else as the show hosts put them on.
He exclaimed: “I thought you were blacking up!
“I thought you were trying to make me feel welcome.”
Philip was left speechless, laughing awkwardly before swiftly moving the conversation on.
Incident on The One Show
Don lost his temper with Alex Jones as she battled with technical difficulties while trying to interview him on current affairs programme.
The One Show host noticed that Don was struggling to hear her questions about his role on EastEnders.
She began to raise her voice, hoping this would help the situation.
But the actor hit back: “Alex, it’s not about shouting. It’s the signal!”
Embarrassed, Alex apologised for the poor connection before he cut out for good.
Timeline of Death In Paradise Detectives
Death In Paradise started in 2011 and has welcomed four detectives so far to the island.
These are all of the actors who have played the lead detective in the hit BBC series so far:
Ben Miller as DI Richard Poole – Actor Ben played the first ever detective from seasons 1 to 2, and then returned as a guest star in the third and tenth series.
Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman. Next up My Family star took on the role for three years from series 3 to 6.
Ardal O’Hanlon as DI Jack Mooney. Father Ted star Ardal was a fan favourite and was the detective for three seasons from series 6 to 9.
Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker. The actor started in 2019 and is the longest-running star to have the detective role. He was on the show for four seasons from 9 to 13.