Lloyd Griffith’s BBC Breakfast Interview: The Grimsby Love-In That Broke the Internet
Lloyd Griffith’s BBC Breakfast Interview: The Grimsby Love-In That Broke the Internet (Again)
Grimsby comedian Lloyd Griffith just used a national BBC Breakfast interview to shove Grimsby Town into Return to Paradise – and Mariners fans are properly emotional. Watch the clip, read the chaos, and tell us you didn’t shout “UP THE MARINERS” at your phone. Full story + reactions inside!
Right, hands up who watched BBC Breakfast this morning and ended up proper choked up over a two-minute chat about a TV detective show?Exactly. Me too.
Lloyd Griffith – opera-singing, beard-tastic, born-and-bred Grimsby comedian – sat on that famous red sofa with Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt and basically turned a cosy promo for Return to Paradise into the greatest advert Grimsby Town has ever had. And it’s glorious.The Moment That Sent X Into MeltdownPicture the scene. They’re talking about Lloyd’s role as DS Colin Cartwright in the sunny Australian spin-off of Death in Paradise. Standard promo stuff.Then Lloyd drops the absolute bomb:
“I will mention Grimsby Town wherever I go.”He grins like a kid who’s just scored in the playground, then casually reveals he worked with the showrunner to write actual Grimsby Town references into his character’s backstory. Filmed in Sydney. 10,000 miles away. And still banging on about Blundell Park.
Naga laughs. Charlie looks mildly terrified. The entire Mariners end of X loses their minds.Within 30 minutes the clip had 800k views. By lunchtime it was pushing 1.5 million.
#GrimsbyTown trended in the UK. The club’s official account posted crying emojis and called him a legend. Someone started a Change.org petition for a Cleethorpes spin-off. I am not joking.
They said yes.
Result? Actual on-screen references coming up in the next few episodes that only proper Mariners will clock. One apparently involves a very specific away-day story from the 90s. Lloyd wouldn’t spoil it, but his face said everything.
He also joked about pitching a future series set in Cleethorpes: “Death in Paradise… but the tagline is ‘Is this really paradise?’”
Naga nearly spat her coffee out.The Internet Reaction – Pure Chaos (The Good Kind)Let’s run the numbers at time of writing (7pm, 20 November 2025):
Now he’s a series regular on one of the BBC’s global juggernauts, and the first thing he does is sneak his hometown club into the script.That, my friends, is peak Grimsby.Why This Matters More Than Just a Funny InterviewIn a week where football Twitter is usually full of misery, VAR rants and ownership nonsense, this was pure joy.
A working-class lad from Grimsby makes it onto one of the biggest drama franchises in the world… and uses his moment to shout out the club he’s supported since he was a kid.No PR spin. No “brand synergy”. Just genuine pride.
Type MARINERS if you’re proper proud right now
Where to Watch & What Happens Next
Instead he made sure a little corner of North East Lincolnshire got its moment on the BBC Breakfast sofa.
And that, ladies and gents, is why we bloody love him.
Now do your duty: share this with every Mariners fan you know, drop UP THE MARINERS in the comments, and let’s get that Cleethorpes spin-off trending.Who’s with me?
Right, hands up who watched BBC Breakfast this morning and ended up proper choked up over a two-minute chat about a TV detective show?Exactly. Me too.
Lloyd Griffith – opera-singing, beard-tastic, born-and-bred Grimsby comedian – sat on that famous red sofa with Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt and basically turned a cosy promo for Return to Paradise into the greatest advert Grimsby Town has ever had. And it’s glorious.The Moment That Sent X Into MeltdownPicture the scene. They’re talking about Lloyd’s role as DS Colin Cartwright in the sunny Australian spin-off of Death in Paradise. Standard promo stuff.Then Lloyd drops the absolute bomb:
“I will mention Grimsby Town wherever I go.”He grins like a kid who’s just scored in the playground, then casually reveals he worked with the showrunner to write actual Grimsby Town references into his character’s backstory. Filmed in Sydney. 10,000 miles away. And still banging on about Blundell Park.
Naga laughs. Charlie looks mildly terrified. The entire Mariners end of X loses their minds.Within 30 minutes the clip had 800k views. By lunchtime it was pushing 1.5 million.
#GrimsbyTown trended in the UK. The club’s official account posted crying emojis and called him a legend. Someone started a Change.org petition for a Cleethorpes spin-off. I am not joking.
Return to Paradise Season 2 – Quick Recap for the UninitiatedIf you’ve somehow missed it, here’s the deal:'I will mention Grimsby Town wherever I go'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 19, 2025
Actor Lloyd Griffiths spoke to #BBCBreakfast about appearing in 'Return to Paradise' - an Aussie twist on the murder-mystery 'Death in Paradise' https://t.co/f5FttW6A4Q pic.twitter.com/wSPq7PPMg3
- Brand-new Death in Paradise spin-off set in Australia
- Stars Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke
- Lloyd Griffith plays her loveable, slightly hapless sidekick DS Colin Cartwright
- Monday nights, BBC One, 9pm – all episodes already on iPlayer
- Averaging 5.8 million viewers per episode (BARB consolidated figures, November 2025)
- Officially the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year
They said yes.
Result? Actual on-screen references coming up in the next few episodes that only proper Mariners will clock. One apparently involves a very specific away-day story from the 90s. Lloyd wouldn’t spoil it, but his face said everything.
He also joked about pitching a future series set in Cleethorpes: “Death in Paradise… but the tagline is ‘Is this really paradise?’”
Naga nearly spat her coffee out.The Internet Reaction – Pure Chaos (The Good Kind)Let’s run the numbers at time of writing (7pm, 20 November 2025):
- Original BBC Breakfast post: 1.8 million views
- Grimsby Town official reply: 94k likes, 22k retweets
- Top reply: “Lloyd Griffith just did more for GTFC recruitment than our last three transfer windows” – 41k likes
- Petition for “Death in Paradise: Cleethorpes” – 11,342 signatures and climbing
- Half of Grimsby apparently texting mates “DID YOU SEE LLOYD ON THE TELLY?!”
Now he’s a series regular on one of the BBC’s global juggernauts, and the first thing he does is sneak his hometown club into the script.That, my friends, is peak Grimsby.Why This Matters More Than Just a Funny InterviewIn a week where football Twitter is usually full of misery, VAR rants and ownership nonsense, this was pure joy.
A working-class lad from Grimsby makes it onto one of the biggest drama franchises in the world… and uses his moment to shout out the club he’s supported since he was a kid.No PR spin. No “brand synergy”. Just genuine pride.
Type MARINERS if you’re proper proud right now
Where to Watch & What Happens Next- Return to Paradise – BBC One, Mondays 9pm
- Every episode on BBC iPlayer right now
- Episode 4 airs next Monday (24 Nov) – rumour has it the first big Grimsby reference drops then
- Series has already been renewed for a Christmas special (source: Radio Times)
Instead he made sure a little corner of North East Lincolnshire got its moment on the BBC Breakfast sofa.
And that, ladies and gents, is why we bloody love him.
Now do your duty: share this with every Mariners fan you know, drop UP THE MARINERS in the comments, and let’s get that Cleethorpes spin-off trending.Who’s with me?
