Following the huge success of Death in Paradise’s first ever Christmas special in 2021 - which gained an audience of over 8.8 million, making it the third most watched show of the festive period (based on all-screens 30+ days figures) - everyone’s favourite Caribbean crime drama will return for a second Christmas special.

Airing on BBC One later this year, the feature-length episode is guaranteed to inject some sunshine into the holiday season.

The much-loved detective series, filmed on the French Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, which offers some much-needed escapism as well as compelling whodunnits and deeply satisfying plot twists, remains an audience winner, with series 11 averaging nearly 8 million viewers (based on all-screens 7+ days figures) to date and each episode being the most-watched programme of the day.

Executive Producer Tim Key: “We were overwhelmed with the fantastic response to our first Christmas special and delighted that we’ve been asked to take the viewers back to Saint Marie this Christmas. We can promise something very different this year, but still with all the Death in Paradise fun, sparkle and intrigue that the viewers will expect”

Series 12 and the feature-length Christmas episode go into production in spring of this year with returning cast, Ralf Little, Don Warrington and Elizabeth Bourgine, Tahj Miles, Shantol Jackson and Ginny Holder. Guest cast joining series 12 and the special will remain under wraps until later this year.

Death in Paradise is licensed to over 230 territories and has proved incredibly successful worldwide, often proving to be the best performing drama on its respective channel in each region.

Death in Paradise is a Red Planet Pictures production for BBC One made with the support of the region of Guadeloupe and internationally distributed by BBC Studios. The feature length episode is written by James Hall, produced by Candida Julian-Jones, directed by Ruth Carney and will air on BBC One this December. All series of Death in Paradise are currently available on BBC iPlayer.