Before the fifteenth season of Death in Paradise began, viewers met Sergeant Mattie Fletcher, the new character taking over from Ginny Holder. Actor Don Gilet hinted that Mattie would arrive with some personal issues.
He said there was a hidden depth to her personality, but he didn’t reveal what that was.
The first episode started to reveal the bigger story when Mattie was reprimanded by Selwyn for acting carelessly during an investigation. It came out that something had happened while she was working in Jamaica, and it was documented in her personnel file, though the specifics weren’t shared.
I was really struck by how open Florence seemed with Seb. She admitted she’d made a serious mistake on a case at her old job, and hinted at a past relationship that hadn’t worked out before she arrived on Saint Marie. It was interesting, though – she didn’t share any details, leaving me wanting to know more about what happened.
But in the season 15 finale, it emerged that those two aspects of her life are connected.
As Mattie investigates the death of Giles Parry, whose body washed ashore, she receives calls from her former boss back in Jamaica. She avoids answering, wanting to avoid revisiting a painful chapter of her past.
We then learn he’s also spoken with the commissioner, who unfortunately has to tell her some bad news: her ex, Damon, was found not guilty and has been released.
Mattie was clearly upset by what had happened and asked Selwyn not to share the details with the rest of the team. He promised to keep her confidence.
But it’s not going to stay under wraps for long…
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Once Selwyn successfully solves the case and is hailed by the town for revealing the truth about Benjamin Parry – who was actually murdered, not lost at sea – Seb receives an unexpected call while at the station. It’s Damon.
He’d given her his phone number, writing it down on a small piece of paper, and asked Mattie to call him. But as soon as her coworker wasn’t looking, she crumpled up the paper and threw it away.
If only she could do the same with her ex…
We don’t yet know the full story of their past, and it’s possible there was abuse involved. Either he’s just naturally disruptive, or he poses a more serious threat, but season 16 seems like it will be a difficult time for Mattie.
Additionally, she’s now surrounded by a new team that’s incredibly supportive of each other, demonstrated when Selwyn publicly defended Mattie after a suspect claimed Mattie had made inappropriate advances toward him.
Whatever Damon has planned, he may have met his match.
Death in Paradise airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor at TopMob, where she writes about TV dramas and comedies. Before that, she was a TV writer for Digital Spy and a content writer for Mumsnet. She has a degree and a postgraduate diploma in English Studies.
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2026-03-28 01:34