Dear All,

I recently came across an intriguing bit of trivia which I had thus far been unaware of: that the BBC crime comedy drama Death in Paradise was inspired by the police investigation into the death of the Pakistan cricket team’s coach Bob Woolmer during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, on the day the Pakistan team was knocked out of the World Cup (after a shock defeat by Ireland) and three days before their final match. Wild rumours circulated about the death after a pathologist’s report said that Woolmer had died due to manual strangulation even though the initial finding was that he had died of a heart attack. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Force joined the investigation which was receiving a lot of attention in the international media. Several toxicology tests and pathology reports later, the local authorities’ conclusion was that there had been no foul play and that Woolmer had died of natural causes although the subsequent jury verdict was inconclusive. It was this high-profile investigation that provided Robert Thorogood with the idea for a series revolving around a British police detective working on a Caribbean island.

Death in Paradise has a standard murder mystery structure: the usual whodunnit formula of a murder ­– an interesting cast of suspects, various false leads and oddities and then the final reveal when investigators tell an assembled group of suspects who the murderer is. What made the series different was its beautiful setting and its wit – or as Thorogood described it “a sunny location, fish out of water story, a light-hearted murder mystery.”

Having a white British detective imported into a former colony to oversee the locals was a potential minefield in terms of reinforcing colonial superiority narratives along with connotations of the civilising influence of the white ‘master,’ yet Death in Paradise somehow manages to avoid this.

The fish out of water element is the British detective in the Caribbean surroundings: a man defeated by the heat, blinded by the sun, rattled by the relaxed tempo of island life and resistant to its considerable charms. The culture clash element is very entertaining – it’s not just between the British DI and the Islanders but also in the way the first DI reacts to anything French (the fictitious TV show island, Saint Marie has a Franco-British history and a strong French influence) with prejudice.The show proved such a success that it ran for thirteen seasons, a total of 107 episodes, and featured four different detective inspectors over the seasons.

The four DIs are all very different characters and their eccentricities and uptight behaviour are an endless source of entertainment for the locals. The show’s cast of characters is also perhaps what makes it very special, the other members of the police team are a varied and endearing lot – from the intimidating police commissioner and the roguish quick-witted Officer Dwayne Myers to the various detective sergeants who deputise for the visiting DI.

The show is wonderful escapist entertainment. It’s funny and intriguing and the mystery is always solved. And along the way, we get involved with what’s happening in the lives of the characters, missing the ones who exit and being intrigued by the new entrants.

As it is with James Bond film fans, so it is for fans of Death in Paradise: there’s the question of which one is your favourite. Is it the nerdish, sceptical, straightlaced, uptight Richard Poole (Ben Miller); the gawky, redhead Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall); the garrulous, Irish John Mooney (Ardal O’Hanlon); or the hypochondriac, fidgety Mancunian Neville Parker (Ralf Little)? It’s a little difficult to choose since they all play very different characters (unlike Bond) and they are all so distinct but I have to say my preference is for the Irish DI (and incidentally from the Bonds, my preference is still Pierce Brosnan.)

Having a white British detective imported into a former colony to oversee the locals was a potential minefield in terms of reinforcing colonial superiority narratives along with connotations of the civilising influence of the white ‘master,’ yet Death in Paradise somehow manages to avoid this. The humour is affectionate despite the various DIs’ extended culture shock. Interestingly, the show is a joint French-British production and was also shown on French TV. It has a couple of recent spinoffs – Beyond Paradise (set in Cornwall) and Return to Paradise (set somewhere in Australia). Thorogood has also produced four novels featuring the cast of the original series.

For me the show has been a good discovery – and great fun to binge watch.

Best wishes.

Umber Khairi