Death in Paradise boss reveals which TV legend was supposed to star in BBC drama and why they turned it down
DEATH in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood has revealed that the role of the BBC’s drama’s inaugural detective Richard Poole was offered to another TV star before Ben Miller.
During an interview with OK!, Robert revealed that comedian and actor David Mitchell was the frontrunner for the role of the Detective Inspector.
“David was originally pencilled in to be the lead in Death in Paradise,” Robert told the outlet.
The Peep Show star, 50, had agreed to take on the role, but backed out at the last minute for quite a surprising reason; he fell in love.
Robert explained: “When the show was green lit, he was attached, but it was about then that he’d fallen in love with Victoria [Coren].
“He was very, very polite about it as you can imagine and said, ‘I’m really sorry, but I can’t go to the Caribbean for six months. I’ve just started dating Vicky Coren.’ So he threw over his work to pursue his love life.
“I’m not sure that I’ve asked him [to go on Death in Paradise] since because he’s been so busy. He’s now a lead detective in his own cosy crime TV show, which is coming out sometime or other,” he added in reference to BBC One’s upcoming series, Ludwig.
Turning down Death in Paradise was definitely the right move for David, who married Victoria in November 2012, a year after Death in Paradise premiered.
The couple now share two daughters, Barbara, nine, and June Violet, eight months.
However, having David signed on to play DI Poole was a big part of getting the show off the ground.
“The way you get stuff made is you try to attach as much talent as possible and when I was coming out up with Death in Paradise, I had no track record at all, no provenance to speak of,” Robert explained.
“So although people liked the idea, they wanted to believe that it could actually get made and one of the things you do is if you’re lucky enough to know a star, you say, ‘Can I attach your name to this? Because one, I think it’d be great in it, but it will help sell it to the channel.’
“He was very happy to say that back then and we got all the way to the green light and when it came to the actual dates, he just rang me and said, ‘Look, would it cause a problem?’ We were very lucky actually because Tony Jordan – who was one of the masterminds of the show – has been keen from the start to call it Death in Paradise rather than name it after the detective. He said, ‘We’ve got to make it so that if a detective changes, we still have a show.’”
So, while David was no longer a part of the project, Death in Paradise was beginning to take shape.
“When David said he couldn’t do it, it didn’t feel so catastrophic. We just went looking for another person who could play an uptight, white, middle class, private school educated, neurotic lunatic and we were very lucky to get Ben to do it. That’s worked out well,” Robert concluded.
This certainly worked out well because, as fans of the show know, the mantle of lead detective has changed hands quite a few times.
Following Ben’s two-season stint, Kris Marshall’s Humphrey Goodman was brought on to solve crimes on the island.
Although Kris stepped away from Death in Paradise, making room for Ardal O’Hanlon’s Jack Mooney to take the lead, he has continued to be part of the TV universe, fronting the spin-off Beyond Paradise.
After Ardal stepped away in Season 9, Ralf Little took over as DI Neville Parker. Ralf has had the longest stint as the lead detective on Saint Marie, but stepped away earlier this year to pursue other opportunities.
Who were the lead detectives on Death in Paradise?
1. Ben Miller (Series 1 – 3)
Ben Miller was the first actor to star as a detective transferred to the island when he played DI Richard Poole. Despite his prickly nature, viewers soon warmed up to him and they were left devastated when he was tragically killed off at the beginning of series three when he was stabbed by an ice pick by an old university friend. In reality, Ben chose to exit the series because he had a baby on the way and wanted to spend more time at home.
2. Kris Marshall (Series 3 – 6)
Kris Marshall’s Humphrey Goodman took over from Richard Poole when he was brought in to solve his murder. The goofy detective led the show for three seasons but eventually rekindled his romance with Marth Lloyd (Sally Bretton) and decided to move back to the U.K. to be with her. Like Ben, Kris was struggling being away from his young family for six months out of the year.
3. Ardal O’Hanlon (Series 6 – 9)
Ardal O’Hanlon took over from Kris as the amiable widower Jack Mooney. He left after three seasons, believing he had exhausted the role of Jack. “I think we had a great ride and it was a fantastic time and I think it was high time to move on,” he said at the time of his departure. The character moved back to the U.K. to be closer to his daughter.
4. Ralf Little (Series 9 – 13)
Ralf Little joined the series as DI Neville Parker at the beginning of series 9 and is now the longest reigning lead detective on the BBC drama. He has been through many highs and lows during his tenure – but will this season be his last?
Ralf has been replaced by Don Gilet, who is set to join the upcoming fourth season as DI Mervin Wilson. He will make his first appearance in the 2024 Christmas Special.
Seasons 1 – 13 of Death in Paradise are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.