BBC Death in Paradise star admits they ‘loathed’ filming as they delve into ‘disaster’ on-set experience: ‘They tried to save money!’
BBC viewers would be forgiven for thinking that the sun, sand and greenery of Saint Marie – also known in real-life as Guadeloupe – would be any actor’s dream thanks to 14 series of comedy-drama Death in Paradise.
However, speaking exclusively to GB News, one of the show’s guest stars from last series has admitted that the Caribbean island comes with a whole host of challenges that those used to more modest conditions of Britain may not be well-equipped to face.
GB News sat down with actor Guy Henry ahead of the release of his new film Time Travel is Dangerous, and the conversation soon turned to his stint opposite Ralf Little in the sun-soaked series.
Henry took on the role of Ray Saunders, the criminal former boss of Honore Police Officer Marlon Pryce (Tahj Miles), who wound up dead while on the island.
In typical Death in Paradise fashion, Henry’s character was killed off within minutes of the episode, but he did return throughout via a series of flashbacks.
But despite his time on-screen being relatively short in length compared to the show’s main cast, Henry admitted it was still a rather “tough gig”.
Henry prefaced the tale of his time on the show by branding Death in Paradise a “wonderful comedy” before her divulged: “Yes, I was dead within minutes of going to Guadeloupe – which I loathed, by the way!”
Explaining why his experience wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, he continued: “I’m not very good in humidity of 99.9 percent, mosquitoes, 38-degree heat and pouring rain.
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“I had to lie around because they’d film it out of season to save money.
“Everybody would keep saying, ‘Oh, you went to Guadeloupe,’ and I said, ‘Yes, at the wrong time of year!’ Even the bars and restaurants weren’t even open… a disaster.”
Despite not being the biggest fan of the filming conditions, Henry still described his experience as “great fun”, although a mishap with his mosquito spray may have added to his woes in the Caribbean country.
“It was great fun, though, but quite tricky. And I overdid the use of the DEET-ridden mosquito repellent,” Henry revealed.
“I thought, ‘Blimey, I know I had a lot of rose wine on the plane over here, but this isn’t a hangover surely.’
“I was trembling, and I had a blinding headache, and I thought, ‘This is odd, ‘ and then I was spraying myself with this mosquito repellent, as you’re encouraged to do out there.
“And I thought this is getting in my mouth, it can’t be very good for you. And then I realised that actually, no, it wasn’t, I was overdoing it.
“I mustn’t blame the product, but I was overdoing it, so I immediately showered it all off and felt better straight away. So when you do an episode of Death in Paradise, be careful of your mosquito repellent!”
Henry was then asked if he felt the challenges he experienced during his short stint on the island could play a factor in the show’s seemingly ever-changing leading stars.
Henry’s co-star Little has since been replaced by Don Gilet. Before then, Little followed in the footsteps of Ardal O’Hanlon, Kris Marshall, and Ben Miller in the leading role.
“It is massively challenging,” Henry conceded. “There are lots of good things about it, I don’t mean to be too nimby, but it was quite hairy, I must say, and very hard work.
“Ralf Little, who I worked with, he was the detective at the time, was delightful. He made me very welcome and was great.
“I do remember saying that, much as I want to be able to pay the mortgage, much as I want to be able to pay any bill that comes in, therefore work, keep working, I did think, ‘I don’t know if I could do this… it’s all very well going out there and being dead in the first three scenes and doing a few flashbacks, but day after day in that…’
“Yeah, it is a tough gig, tough gig,” Henry admitted.
As well as Death in Paradise, in recent years Henry has enjoyed stints on the small screen in Sky’s Lockerbie, Paramount+’s The Burning Girls, and Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Now, on the big screen, the former Harry Potter star is preparing to hit cinemas in the unique comedy, Time Travel is Dangerous.
Henry stars alongside the likes of Johnny Vegas, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Jane Horrocks, and many other big names in the time-travelling comedy flick.
Set for release on March 28, Henry said of the film: “I was just practicing what I was going to say to you about it… and wacky was one of the words, wild is another. Another was warm.
“It’s very charming. I must say when we were filming it, I wasn’t entirely conversant with the intricacies of the plot but it’s a great film, it’s terrific.”
It wasn’t just the plot that caught the attention of Henry as he was full of compliments for his castmates too.
WATCH HERE: Ralf Little shares insect infestation on the set of Death in Paradise while filming
“Well, you may think, as I would, that Johnny Vegas and I are somewhat different people,” Henry dryly remarked. “I didn’t know him before the film.
“I do know Stephen Fry a little bit; he directed a lovely film I was in years ago, about 2003, called Bright Young Things. So I know Stephen well; he’s a gent of the highest order.
“And so I said, ‘What’s Johnny Vegas like? I’m going to be working with him.’ And he said, ‘Oh, to use a horrible word, genuine. He’s a lovely, lovely man.’ And it turned out to be the case.
“We seem completely different (but) we got on famously. So he was great fun, yeah, and they all were. It was an absolute joy to make, which doesn’t always translate to happiness on-screen, but I think it does in this film.”
Time Travel is Dangerous will be released in cinemas across the UK from March 28.