Death In Paradise: Tony Jordan recounts Ben Miller leaving show
Tony Jordan, the writer of Death In Paradise, has spoken about the challenges of changing detectives on the popular BBC show.
The series began with Ben Miller as DI Richard Poole, who was later replaced by Kris Marshall's DI Humphrey Goodman. When Marshall left the show, Ardal O'Hanlon stepped in as DI Jack Mooney, followed by Ralf Little's DI Neville Parker. Following Little's exit, Don Gilet is set to take over as the new detective in episodes airing next year.
In a conversation with Don Warrington, who portrays Police Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, in a BBC special Tony revealed: "Then of course the problem came when Ben wanted to leave. Then we had to find a replacement because we couldn't just do the zipped-up suit, shirt, tie, and briefcase anymore because it would just be what Ben did.
"We needed someone with funny bones, which was obviously Kris Marshall, who worked mostly in comedy up until then. What was funny about Kris is, we were struggling with his first script. No one knew exactly who he was in the way we knew who Richard was. I went and looked at one of the things and I thought, how do we get this character in a nutshell, how do we find him?"
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Reflecting on Kris' character Humphrey's memorable entrance, Tony recalled: "And I literally had him sit on a windowsill and fall backward out the window.
"And Danny turned and said, did he just fall out of a window? It was such a deadpan moment. And then we got it! This is a man who is so into everything that things happen and he takes it in his stride. He just keeps going."
Don Gilet is stepping in to fill some pretty big shoes as the new sleuth on 'Death in Paradise', taking the lead as Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson, reports Wales Online.
On securing the spot, Don shared: "Being offered the new lead role in Death in Paradise feels like a deeply loved and incredibly precious jewel has been placed in my hands. This is a big show, with a big heart and the love continually grows for it. It is my intention to never lose sight of that and to remain grateful, humbled, and dedicated.
"Even during those testing times when every sinew is screaming at me to run off the set and dive into the sea, swimming pool, or an ice-cold beer whichever happens to be closer at the time!"
Death in Paradise is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
