Return to Paradise fans said the same thing minutes into the new Death in Paradise spin-off on Friday night.
Fans were thrilled to see Anna Samson portray the show’s first female lead, Mackenzie Clarke, with Lloyd Griffith joining her as the trusty Colin Cartwright.
Despite the audience’s diverse reactions to this new chapter of the series, they were thrilled to see Ardal O’Hanlon, formerly DI Jack Mooney, reappearing in the spin-off show.
There was a particular buzz during one scene when Mackenzie reached out to Jack, who was in London.
Opening the conversation, Jack answered with a simple “Mooney,” prompting an urgent response from Mackenzie: “Don’t hang up,” reports .
Ardal O’Hanlon has made a return as Jack Mooney (Image: BBC)
Jack went on to retort: “I am actually at work,” to which Mackenzie prodded further: “Yes, obviously. What is the situation? Is there going to be an inquiry?”
A momentary pause ensued before Jack joked: “No, I am pretty happy with my mobile plan at the moment. More data than I could ever need, thank you.”
The line of questioning abruptly stopped when Mackenzie realised that Jack could not speak openly, prompting her concise exclamation: “I need to know.”
Nevertheless, Jack promptly ended the conversation due to the prying eyes of another officer and ended the call.
Ardal’s return sparked quite the stir on social media, where one enthusiast exclaimed: “So great to see Jack Mooney back. Absolutely love him.”
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Anna plays Mackenzie Clarke (Image: BBC)
Echoing this sentiment, another chimed in with gusto: “MY FAVE MY FAVE MY FAVEEEEEEE.”
Further praise came from a third fan proclaiming: “Yaaaaaaaaaay my fave irish DI is back,”, and yet another delightfully noted: “Jack Mooney return finally.”
A fan couldn’t contain their joy, exclaiming: “Oommmmggg what? Please tell me this will be available on Britbox starting Friday.”
Speaking of Ardal’s return, Anna teased that viewers can expect to see him more than once, saying: “We can expect Ardal to make more than one appearance than just in the first episode because he plays my boss back at the Metropolitan Police.”
Ardal as Jack Mooney in Death in Paradise (Image: (Image: BBC))
She said Mackenzie keeps in regular touch with Ardal’s character for guidance, contemplating when to depart Dolphin Cove and make her way back to London. Anna elaborated: “So the show, without being a carbon copy of the original, has lots of tips of the hat to the original, not just with the characters but even certain shots are paying homage to the original, like on the beach with the suitcase and not [wearing] an appropriate outfit for the weather. That is certainly a wink and a nod to the original.
“I didn’t get to meet Ardal because he shot his stuff in London and my stuff in Australia. I want to meet all of [the Death in Paradise cast]. I think it is something about playing the lead detective in a Paradise show, so I want to talk to them; I would love to meet them all.”
On reflecting upon Ardal’s participation in the new series, Lloyd fondly recalled his past experiences working with him.
In warm remembrance, Lloyd enthused: “I have gigged with Ardal separately as a comedian, and that was mind-blowing,” sharing his adoration for his co-star. “I still get giddy when I watch the first episode, this is Ardal O’Hanlon.”
Return to Paradise returns next Friday at 8pm on One.