Kris Marshall has said he chose to leave Death in Paradise because he believed his son was “becoming too Caribbean.”
The 47-year-old actor, who starred as DI Humphrey Goodman in the popular BBC series from 2014-2017, made the controversial comment while on ITV’s Lorraine to promote his new crime thriller Trick or Treat.
While Marshall said he had spent “four great years in Guadeloupe”, the French Caribbean island where Death in Paradise is filmed, he added that he wanted to send his son Thomas, who he shares with wife Hannah Dodkins alongside daughter Elsie, “into school.”
“He was becoming a bit too Caribbean,” he said. “He refused to wear shoes and would only drink coconut water and only eat pineapple.
“He was very good on the beach, but not so good with maths and English, so I decided it was time to get him back into school – so the show had to go, really.”
Marshall then joked: “Six months later, I’m then standing on a film set in a car park in Dagenham at four in the morning, and I’m thinking ‘Have I made the right decision?’”
While it was not immediately clear whether the former My Family star’s remarks were made in jest, viewers were left feeling a little unsettled by the comments.
One observer tweeted: “Did Kris Marshall just say his son was becoming too Caribbean and then just reel off a bunch of stereotypes about eating pineapple and not wearing shoes?”
“Yeah I believe he did,” replied another viewer. “I won't lie, thought that was really weird. I was just sat there the whole time like…” they added, before posting a series of gritted teeth emojis.
“I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it at all but I did cringe for him just a little bit. Like ‘Oh no stop, stop talking.’” the original poster said.
Marshall was replaced by Ardal O’Hanlon, who played DI Jack Mooney until he quit the show last year.
The latest series saw The Royale Family’s Ralf Little take charge as DI Neville Parker.
