Comedian Lloyd Griffith stars as ex-pat cop in spin-off detective show Return to Paradise

British comedian and presenter Lloyd Griffith is set to win over audiences in the upcoming Death in Paradise Aussie spin-off as 'a tubby bloke from England who gets very excited about living in Australia'.

Griffith, 41 from Grimsby, plays British cop Colin Cartwright in Return to Paradise, a new detective drama set on the NSW south coast fictional town of Dolphin Cove.

Lloyd is also a presenter and singer but is best known as a one-time presenter of Soccer AM on Sky.

He said: 'I'd never been to Australia before, and so when this role came up and obviously being a Brit and aware of Death in Paradise, I wanted to do it.

'My family watch Death in Paradise non-stop. Also, the character is very similar to who I am - a tubby bloke from England who gets very excited about living in Australia.'

His character, Colin, is an ex-pat Brit who is 'at the heart of the community'.

Lloyd explained: 'He's a police officer. He's been in Dolphin Cove for about five years. He loves the community.

'He loves the sense of togetherness and belonging. I think it's something that he probably didn't have back in England.

'They've really accepted him here. They love him. He's got a slightly different accent, but you know, he pulls his sleeves up, literally and metaphorically, and he just gets stuck in.'

Then another ex-pat turns up, Anna Samson's DI Mackenzie Clark, who heads up investigations.

He said: 'At first there's a little bit of friction between them, because essentially, he wants her position.

'Colin's not a bad police officer, but Mackenzie is just that little bit better, having probably had more experience in the policing game.

'A common theme is that they want to solve these crimes, so they have to work together and put any differences aside.'

Griffith has appeared on many hit TV shows including Ted Lasso, Not Going Out, It's a Sin, Whitstable Pearl and Bad Education.

Return to Paradise is his first main lead.

Asked about the appeal of the show, he replied: 'I think any fans of Death in Paradise will love Return to Paradise because it's a part of that world. There is a death every week, which is suspicious, isn't it?

'And also you fall in love with paradise. I think every time you watch Death in Paradise or Beyond Paradise, you fall in love with those locations, and it makes you want to live there, although, you know, the chance of being murdered is quite high. These locations are unbelievable. The beaches in Australia are just out of this world.

'You've got that lovely little whodunit every single week, you know that someone's going to get murdered, and at the end of it, you know that you'll find out who is responsible and that's what people love about the show.

'Whenever there's something Australian on TV, Brits will absolutely consume it. I think they fantasise about having that life on those beaches.'

All six episodes of Return to Paradise will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Friday 22 November; the series airz weekly on BBC One from 8pm that night