Death in Paradise star’s secret role in EastEnders as they make cameo as Mervin’s mum

Death in Paradise fans saw a cameo from actress Judith James as Dorna Bray, Mervin’s mum – and some fans may recognise her from BBC soap, EastEnders.

During the fourth episode of Death in Paradise, fans see a photo of Judith Jacob as Mervin’s (Don Gilet) mother. Don made his entrance during the Christmas special of the show, as Ralf Little’s replacement. It made him the fifth person to helm the BBC murder mystery.

The detective originally travelled to the island in hopes to meet his birth mother, Dorna Bray. However, he instead discovered that she had recently died. He was informed on her death by Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington), who told him she had died during an accident while scattering her father’s ashes.

At the end of episode three, fans heard Mervin listening to a distressing phone call of Dorna being in distress from the boat. He then calls the commissioner and tells him he was right – Dorna’s death was an accident and he’d be shutting the case down. At the start of Friday night’s episode, Mervin was heard saying he was ‘fine’ with his mum’s case being closed.

At the end of the episode, Mervin is seen raising a beer to a photo of his mum, as he says: “To you, Dorna. Mum,” with a picture of actress, Judith Jacob.

EastEnders fans recognised Don for his role as villain Lucas Johnson, who was married to Denise Fox.

Just like her on screen son, EastEnders fans may recognise Judith from her role in the soap all the way back in 1986. The star is known for her role as health visitor Carmel Roberts from 1985 to 1989. During her time in the role, Judith’s character Carmel suffered from severe marital abuse from her husband, Matthew Jackson, played by Steven Hartley. It marked the first time the show had addressed domestic abuse.

In chilling scenes, Carmel’s nephew Junior was seen stabbing Matthew, in an attempt to save his aunt. Matthew was admitted to hospital, and despite trying to convince Carmel he’d changed, he hadn’t. In July 1989, Carmel threw Matthew out of the home, as he made his exit from Walford. A month later, Carmel made her own exit from the Square to look after her mother, after learning her father had died.

Fans were over the moon when Judith was announced as a guest star for the 14th season of the show. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter to announce her arrival, the show revealed: “Does Saint Marie have an East End? Either way, we’ll be welcoming Judith Jacob to our shores. #DeathInParadise.”

“Judith for the killer. She would make a brilliant murderer,” wrote one fan, while another said: “Legend coming to #deathinparadise.”