Death in Paradise stars’ real-life legal battles – binmen attack to prison stint
The stars of the BBC drama have had some legal battles of their own.
Kris Marshall was charged with failing to provide a breath sample (Image: Getty)
Though they’re best known for playing police detectives in the exotic BBC drama Death in Paradise, its stars have occasionally been forced to face legal battles in their real-lives, too. The cosy crime programme is set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, with each series following the central Detective Inspector looking over the island.
Away from the cameras, though, several of its stars have fallen foul of the law themselves. Despite his fame as DI Humphrey Goodman on Death in Paradise and its spin-off Beyond Paradise, actor Kris Marshall made headlines in October 2011 when he was stopped by cops in a Tesco car park.
At the time, he was reclined in his green Jaguar with the radio on and the key in the ignition, though the car was parked. A member of the public reported seeing the car, and when officers arrived they said they could smell alcohol.
Kris was charged with refusing to provide a sample of breath when he was taken to the police station, blaming it on his asthma.
His lawyer told the courts he had driven to the town centre of Wells for “a few drinks” and decided to sleep in his car after realising he was over the limit to drive home.
He pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen whilst in charge of a motor vehicle and was handed a six-month driving ban.
Danny John-Jules was convicted of common assault (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, actor Danny John-Jules – who starred as Officer Dwayne Myers in Death in Paradise until 2024 – has also had a run-in with the law after allegedly attacking two binmen.
Back in 2008, the Red Dwarf actor “spat at and punched” two council workers for not emptying his recycling bin.
He was later convicted of common assault, though he denied the charges, and ordered to pay £350 in costs and £75 in compensation to each of the workers.
Danny was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service.
His lawyer said: “This sort of behaviour is completely at odds with all that [Danny] is known for and by. He has already suffered professionally because of this.”
The actor, meanwhile, said outside of court: “I’m going to sleep well tonight, community service or no community service. There’s nothing like a clear conscience.
“I’ve been doing community service for over 30 years, this is just another day.”
Keith Allen spent 21 days in jail in the 80s (Image: Getty)
Though he only appeared in one episode of the show back in 2016, Keith Allen – father of Lily and Alfie Allen – has popped up in Death in Paradise as Neil Jenkins.
In real life, Keith served a 21-day jail sentence in Pentonville Prison back in the 1980s after he was found guilty of criminal damage. He had smashed up the bar of the Zanzibar Club in Covent Garden – but he was awarded an honorary lifetime membership to one of its rivals, The Groucho Club, after the incident.
His life has been further marred by controversy, after Keith was punched in the head during a drunken act on stage.
He said: “The result was I got knocked out by a Grenadier Guardsman for doing a gag about that bandstand that the IRA blew up in Hyde Park in 1982 – terrible really.”
