Inside the life of Death in Paradise’s Don Warrington from soap star wife to forgotten role

Death in Paradise fans best know Don Warrington for playing the role of Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the long-running BBC drama. However, as the latest series is in full swing, there are fears the beloved actor could be leaving Saint Marie.

In recent episodes, Selwyn was given a warning that there could be redundancies due to budget constraints. After he told his police team his position was being ‘phased out’, Sebastian (Shaquille Ali-Yebuah) came up with a plan to try and save his career by launching a petition to reinstate Selwyn.

Speaking about his character’s role in jeopardy, the actor said: “He’s shocked. It’s not what he expected. It comes as a bolt from the blue.

“He has to deal with a situation that he hadn’t expected, and it’s making a big change in his life, in his status. He has to work through a crisis, really. It’s monumental for all the other characters as well. It affects everybody equally.”

With many Death in Paradise fans believing this could mark the end of Don’s time on the BBC show, we’ve taken a look into the actor’s life away from the fictional Carribean island.

Soap star wife

Don has been married to his wife Mary Maddocks for over three decades. Although it looks as though the BBC star isn’t the only person who boasts an impressive TV career.

Mary has been seen in many well-known shows including the long-running ITV soap Coronation Street. Along with being seen in the likes of Doctor Who and Midsomer Murders, Mary has also taken to the stage as a director in the West End and starred in The Rocky Horror Show musical.

Don and Mary share two children, Jacob and Archie, and it looks as though one of them has followed in their famous parents’ footsteps.

Archie is a playwright and stand-up comedian and has worked on the likes of the 2023 thriller Gassed Up and the TV show Intergalactic.

Speaking about his parents in the past, Archie said: “Both my parents are actors. My mum, Mary Maddocks, is an actress: she was in The Rocky Horror Show when it was in the West End and my dad is Don Warrington.

“The main thing I get from both of them is they understand the art of performance and the need to perform.”

Family tragedy

Don’s father, Basil Kydd, a politician in Trinidad, died suddenly at the age of 48. At the time, Don was six years old, and his mother Shirley decided to start a new life in England with her children after Basil’s death.

Speaking to the Guardian in the past about his father, Don said: “My father is a shadow. He died when I was six; when I think of him, I just see a shape.

“He was a myth to me. I know stuff about his life and death, but I can’t see a full person. When I had children myself, it meant I had to make up what being a father was.”

Don made the three-week journey to England by ship with his siblings after his mother saved up enough money to send them over after working at a metal factory.

However, life in the UK wasn’t easy, as the BBC star recalled being picked on in school. In an interview he said: “Occasionally I got called rude names, but I was good at defending myself.

“And the kids were kinder than the teachers: I’m left-handed, which schools tried to discourage in those days, and I remember my English teacher saying, ‘Did you learn to write up a tree?’.”

When Don was 12, his mum left England and moved to America to retrain as a nurse, leaving the actor to be looked after by his Aunt Lena.

Although Don has played Commissioner Selwyn Patterson since 2011, the BBC star has been in the acting world since 1975. His first credited role was Henry Voughn in the TV show Six Days of Justice.

However, he gained success in the 1970s show Rising Damp, a popular sitcom which ran between 1974 to 1978.

A synopsis of the show reads: “Popular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly, racist landlord Rigsby. In each episode, his conceits are debunked by his long-suffering tenants.”

Don played the role of Philip in the series and looks worlds away from his Commissioner role in resurfaced photos. One image shows him shirtless sitting on a bed in blue shorts while wearing boxing gloves.

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “My first job, which was [as Philip Smith] in Rising Damp. I was a bit embarrassed by it, really. I’d been trained to go into theatre and learn my craft, and there I was doing a sitcom. It wasn’t in the script.”

Death in Paradise is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.