The โcosy crimeโ genre is nothing new, but itโs showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, hit UK series Death In Paradise has added an Aussie spin-off to the โParaverseโ โ and itโs a project that confessed murder mystery โloserโ Anna Samson is thrilled to be a part of.
โI grew up on Agatha Christie โ reading Agatha Christie and watching Agatha Christie,โ Anna, 34, who moved to Australia from England in her early teens, tells TV WEEK. โAnd also watching procedurals and murder mysteries on the BBC.โ

Being cast as the lead detective in Return To Paradise is a dream for Anna, who gained plenty of fans playing personal trainer Mia Anderson in Home And Away from 2021 to 2022 โ a job she describes as โchalk and cheeseโ compared to her new gig.
โItโs a very different character,โ she explains. โIโm so excited about this show. [Iโm] the first female [lead] in the franchise. It just feels like the Paraverse is really expanding.โ
Anna leads the Aussie series as Detective Inspector Mackenzie Clarke, a prickly expat cop who returns to her fictional coastal home town of Dolphin Cove after working in Londonโs Metropolitan Police for the past six years.
โI love Mackenzie and think sheโs actually teaching me quite a lot,โ she says of her on-screen alter ego. โSheโs a character who doesnโt particularly worry if people like her. Sheโll leave
a conversation if she finds it boring. Sheโd leave a party if she found it boring and wouldnโt say goodbye to anyone.
โI think having that โupfrontnessโ is very liberating for a woman.โ

Anna admits she does find it hard to switch off after being in character all day.
โI take her home with me a bit,โ she says. โI have to do so much preparation, so the job doesnโt end at the end of the shoot day. Itโs an all-consuming job, but itโs brilliant to have a job like this. Itโs rare that these types of roles come along.โ
The ensemble cast is bolstered by Catherine McClements as Mackenzieโs boss (and former mother-in-law-to-be); Tai Hara as her rather dreamy ex-fiancรฉ Glenn; and Celia Ireland as nosy police volunteer Reggie Rocco.
Anna says her co-stars are a huge part of why sheโs loving the new role so much.

โOne of the delights of the show is the people Iโm working with,โ she says. โThe cast are, in every way, brilliant: brilliant actors, brilliant humans, brilliant ensemble players, brilliant support. Because Iโm in so much of the show, itโs very special to be held by such kind, generous, powerhouses of actors.โ
While the show is set in a tiny tropical paradise, itโs actually filmed in the NSW city of Wollongong and in parts of Sydney. The cast and crew had to contend with rather wet conditions when it filmed earlier this year, but for a UK native, that was nothing new.
โI love being on location, because itโs a beautiful part of the world,โ Anna says. โActually, I donโt mind the rain. Like my character, Iโm a big fan of London โ itโs my favourite city in the world. And you have to like the rain to love London.โ
So is a return to the land of her birth on the cards in the future?
โIโd love to be in the UK,โ Anna says. โThere are a lot of family and friends there. The theatre scene in London is something that appeals to me greatly. But I have a very beautiful, happy life in Australia as well. Weโve got aeroplanes โ I could do both!โ
Return To Paradise airs Sunday, 7.30pm on ABC.