Is JP Hooper staying in Death in Paradise season 14? Exclusive
Tobi Bakare is back on our screens as the wonderful Sergeant JP Hooper on Death in Paradise, and while fans were delighted to see him in the opening episode of season 14, the big question is, will he stay on the show for longer - or ever come back for good?
Chatting to HELLO! and other reporters about his future on the show, Tobi, who initially left the series in 2021, joked: "So I'm in this episode…"
He continued: "Sometimes our jobs as actors is to service the story and you can't dictate what that story is. But if the story makes sense then your character being there makes sense. And so, for me, the story made sense. So whether the story is going to make sense next year, or the year after, we'll see!"
Although Tobi is unsure of his future in the BBC show, he did open up about what he would like to see from his character going forward. He explained: "JP has this moral code.
"And I think that's the key to JP. He has a moral code and everything he does comes from that moral code. It'll be interesting to see the code get challenged a little bit, challenged more and we touch on them in one of the seasons.
"it's going to be good to explore those sides of JP. But also looking into these growth, just a lot more of how he becomes an authority [figure]."
The star's love of the show is evident, as he described returning to the set as feeling like "home," while discussing the longevity of the hit series, as well as continuing support from fans for his character. He said: "It's remarkable to this day. People come to me and say I'm a lovely character and when am I coming back and things like that.
"Sometimes you don't really know the effect of your work until you step out of it. It's nice because you feel like you've done your job. JP's just a nice guy. He's just a nice guy. It's nice that he's managed to really impact people in that way."
"Even when I went back to Guadalupe, [I had so many] of the crew members happy to see me back because I didn't know I was coming back to. You never know your impact. You just never know your impact and I think JP's just really captured people's hearts. It's great!"
Death in Paradise season 14 episode one is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
