Selwyn is portrayed by three different ducks, with one named Mek Mek taking the lead most of the time.
In Death in Paradise, DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) shared his Caribbean bungalow with fan-favorite Harry the lizard, who has appeared in nearly every episode since 2011. So, when Goodman moved to Devon for the spin-off Beyond Paradise, now in its third season, there was space for another animal to steal the spotlight.
After purchasing a houseboat, Goodman discovered it came with an unexpected companion—a duck, which he named Selwyn after his former boss, Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington). Unlike Harry, who was a computer-generated lizard, Selwyn is a real duck.
Advertisement Anthony Bloom, who works for Birds for Film near Colchester in Essex, explains that while male ducks are more colorful, they moult and begin to resemble females. To maintain continuity, Selwyn had to be a female duck. She is played by three different ducks, with five-year-old Mek Mek taking the lead most of the time.
Rather than ‘quack, quack,’ she goes ‘mek mek’, She’s an utter joy to work with.
says Bloom, explaining her unique name. Kris Marshall also has high praise for his feathered co-star, saying,
Meanwhile, Mini-Me, who is slightly smaller, serves as a “very good back-up.” Then there’s Nelly, who’s “not such a good back-up…”
Bloom trains and cares for around 200 birds, including pigeons, flamingos, ravens, and 10 ducks. When he transports the Selwyn Three for filming Beyond Paradise, they each travel in individual dog carriers inside what has become known as the “duck truck.”
Everyone likes ducks, don’t they? There’s no doubt they’re cute, Mek Mek is generally the calmest and the tamest, she’s a natural. She’s not afraid of very much. It’s more about getting her used to being in different places and being still, rather than any specific training. If we want her to move location, we’ll put one of the other ducks in a box, and as they like to be together, Mek Mek will go towards her.
says Bloom
We don’t train them to quack for food, because it’d be very hard to stop them!
He adds,
Since they’re all call ducks, they’re naturally very noisy.
In a scene in series two with Sally [Bretton as Martha Lloyd] and Zahra [Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams], Mek Mek didn’t stop quacking, and then she started pecking one of them. I was nervous, thinking, ‘You’re not going to bite her on the cheek, are you?’
Bloom recalls
Fortunately, the cast is understanding. Series regular Barbara Flynn, who plays Martha’s mother Anne Lloyd, tells RT,
Mek Mek contributes endlessly to the richness of all her scenes, picking up cues without a ruffle of a feather! She’s a tremendously good listener and right there in the quiet moments down at the dock with poignant advice. She comes with the boat. She comes with us. She’s our duck.
Source: RadioTimes