The weird phenomenon of Death in Paradise – The Independent, Independent

But if it’s on and I’m not doing anything else – such as meaningfully engaging my brain – then, sure, I’ll watch. Such, I suspect, is the general feeling among its regular viewers. They, like me, may enjoy being reminded of such uncomplicated treats of yesteryear asBergerac,LovejoyorMurder, She Wrote. The world is angry and frightening, full of people shouting at one another on Twitter.Death in Paradisepresents an irresistible weekly escape hatch.

It has a charming backstory too. In the mid-Noughties, Thorogood was nearing – a struggling writer beginning to suspect he was wasting his life. His wife, a broadcast journalist with Classic FM, was supporting the family. His days were spent knocking around in his pajamas writing scripts he knew would never amount to anything.

Then, one morning in 2007, he happened to switch the radio on and hear a news report about the suspicious death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer at the Cricket World Cup in Jamaica. The detail that intrigued him was that local police had brought in detectives from Scotland Yard to help with the murder investigation (it was never proved conclusively whether or not Woolmer was the victim of a crime). In his bedroom office, where he was wrapped in his dressing gown and feeling slightly sorry for himself, a light-bulb went off.

“They liked the idea enough, but it would be expensive to make, it would require filming in the Caribbean for at least five months,” he later remembered. “And there was one thing they believed above all else: it was unlikely the BBC would allow someone without a writing credit to their name to create and write a prime-time TV series.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Salvation came in the unlikely form of a script-writing competition organized by Tony Jordan, former lead writer ofEastEnders, through his new production company Red Planet Pictures. Jordan, who was also the co-creator ofLife On Mars, pledged to give his full backing to any screenplays that caught his attention. Which Thorogood’s outline forDeath in Paradisedid.

With Jordan vouching for the project, the BBC and France’s national broadcaster France Televisions agreed to co-fund the production, Thorogood had his green light. A few months later, he was in the Caribbean scouting locations. The series debuted on (October) , drawing an impressive 5. 139 million viewers. That figure had jumped to more than 7 million when it returned in January 2013 (from the outset it was decided to maximise the appeal of the sun-slathered backdrop by airing in the bleak midwinter).

For all its success,Death in Paradisehas found it comically difficult to hold onto its stars. First to play the archetypal copper out of water was Ben Miller. But he left in to be with his partner back in London. He had spent 19 of the previous**************************************************************************************************************** months shooting in Guadeloupe. Enough was enough. So his character, DI Richard Poole, was killed off and Kris Marshall’s detective Humphrey Goodman flown out to investigate. But Marshall, likewise, found the strain of being away from loved ones too much and, with his family starting to grow up, packed in the show in (**************************************************************************************.

Next cameFather Tedstar and successful stand-upArdal O’Hanlon. He transplanted the agreeable befuddlement of Ted’s Father Dougal McGuire to the Caribbean. The result was a sort of Celtic Columbo (for those sufficiently ancient to remember Peter Falk’s wily homicide detective).

But the boundless sunshine and beauty of Guadeloupe apparently weren’t able to the actor’s liking. He has stated it was “time to move on and explore other opportunities – preferably nearer the Arctic Circle”. He is to be replaced by formerRoyal Familystar Ralf Little at some point in the present season. It’s like the James Bond conveyor-belt sped up by a factor of 15.

Nor is it just the leads that keep flying the tropical coop. Sara Martins, who played DI Poole’s original investigating partner DS Camille Bordey, left a year after Miller. She said she wanted to try different things. “The only way to grow in life is to take risks, even if it means losing something you love, or leaving a place that’s comfortable. You should always go forward and take new challenges. ”A similar restlessness appears to have taken hold of Danny John-Jules, who walked away from the part of officer Dwayne Myers after seven years. Shortly afterwards, he turned up onStrictly Come Dancing.

Yet far from a curse,Death in Paradise‘s inability to hold on to major cast members has proved an unlikely blessing . The BBC received definitive proof early on that the series is bigger than any one actor. In theory, this is a hit that could rumble on in perpetuity (at least one further series has already been confirmed). For as long as there is an appetite for elaborate murders committed amid golden sands and aching sunshine, the broadcaster can continue churning outDeath in Paradise. Thorogood’s mid-life crisis pipe-dream has birthed that rarest of things: the unkillable franchise.

“There’s something wonderful about that sort ofPoirot, Agatha Christie-style investigation: cross-questioning all the witnesses and checking their stories, looking for means, motive and opportunity, ”was how original star Miller defined the allure ofDeath in Paradisewhen initially cast. “It’s got that wonderful classic feel to it, at the same time as this incredibly unusual tropical island setting and a very remote tropical island at that, remote in the geographical sense. It feels like a different time and place. ”

‘Death in Paradise’ returns toBBC Onetonight at 9pm