What happened to Camille in Death in Paradise? Sara Martins keeps saying no to the show — and coming back anyway
Camille Bordey was there at the very start of Death in Paradise — first episode, October 2011, clashing magnificently with Ben Miller's overheated DI Richard Poole. Sara Martins has been leaving the show ever since.
She left in 2015. She came back in 2021. She came back again in 2024. There is a pattern here, and the actress is fully aware of it.
Why she left in 2015
Martins departed midway through series 4, in January 2015, with Camille heading off to take an undercover job in Paris — a tidy fit for a character who'd started out as an undercover officer. Crucially, the exit was designed to be reversible. Speaking to What to Watch at the time, Martins was clear about how deliberate that was:
"We wanted to make the best exit, and they didn't want to kill me off," she said, noting there was always the possibility of a return.
Prophetic, as it turned out.
The comebacks
- Series 10 (2021) — a two-part 10th-anniversary special. Camille returns when her mother Catherine is attacked, and gets a scene with the late Richard Poole, ghost edition.
- Series 12 finale (2023) — no Martins on screen, but Catherine announces Camille is expecting her first child with boyfriend Leo.
- Series 13, episode 1 (2024) — a video call with DI Neville Parker during Ralf Little's final series, bringing her total to 31 episodes.
Why she keeps coming back
Martins has explained the cycle herself, and her explanation is essentially the headline of this article. Speaking to the Radio Times in 2024, she admitted:
"I always say no, and I always come back."
The producers, she said, keep arriving with an idea nice enough to make her smile — one episode here, one scene there — and she considers herself connected to the show for good. Nothing is scheduled, she added, but she wouldn't rule anything out either way.
Could Camille return again?
The door could hardly be more open: the character is alive, on good terms with everyone, and now a mother — a ready-made reason for a visit to Saint Marie. The show itself has moved on to its fifth lead detective, Don Gilet's DI Mervin Wilson, and as of August 2026 no new Martins appearance has been announced.