What happened to Dwayne in Death in Paradise?
Officer Dwayne Myers was there in the very first episode in October 2011, and he lasted longer at Honoré police station than anyone except the commissioner. Then he stopped appearing, came back, and stopped again.
He isn't dead — a distinction that matters on a programme that killed off its original lead. Danny John-Jules left at the end of series 7 in 2018, and Dwayne was written out as sailing off on an extended voyage with his estranged father Nelson. He returned twice, most recently handing in his badge in the 2024 Christmas special.
Why Danny John-Jules left
He wanted to go back to theatre work. Speaking to The Times, he put it plainly:
"I left Death in Paradise because I wanted to get back on stage."
Shortly after the exit he signed up for Strictly Come Dancing. His final episode as a regular was series 7, episode 8, "Melodies of Murder", broadcast in 2018.
How the show covered it
Rather than kill him, the writers sent him travelling. In the series 8 opener on 10 January 2019, DI Jack Mooney asks JP how Dwayne's epic voyage is going; JP reports that he's off the coast of Cuba, having just rescued a boat with a broken engine and a hen party on board. Viewers never saw him leave.
That's a different call from the one made about Ben Miller's DI Richard Poole, who was murdered at the start of series 3 — and it's why Dwayne could keep coming back.
The two returns
- 2021 Christmas special — Dwayne comes home to Honoré for Christmas after four years away and is pulled onto a case while Florence is with her family.
- Series 13, episode 6 (2024) — he rejoins the force outright, announcing himself to Neville Parker as "the full package".
- 2024 Christmas special — he hands in his uniform to look after his ageing father Nelson, played by Ram John Holder, telling Darlene he couldn't do both things.
Is he coming back again?
Nothing has been announced. Fans spotted his absence from the series 14 cast photo in January 2025 and asked; the answer was the Christmas special they'd just watched. His stint on the show now totals 60 episodes across 2011 to 2024, spread over series 1 to 7, the 2021 special, and series 13.
For the record: he's now left Saint Marie's police force twice, and both times for the same man — his father.