Death in Paradise star Ben Miller sheds new light on Richard's death ahead of spinoff

"He's a wonderful, wonderful character."

By Stefania Sarrubba

20 Sep 2022

Former Death in Paradise star Ben Miller has looked back on playing DI Richard Poole, admitting it's one of the characters he misses the most.

The Bridgerton actor starred on the first two seasons of BBC's crime drama and departed at the beginning of season three when Poole was killed off. He briefly returned to the show last year.

"I've loved every character that I've played. I really miss Richard Poole from Death in Paradise," Miller told RadioTimes.com.

ben miller as di richard poole in death in paradise series 10

Red Planet / Denis GuyenonBBC

"He's a wonderful, wonderful character. And inevitably there's a sort of sadness in me that I'm not going to get to play him again. You miss them."

The beloved show is about to debut its very first spinoff – "a brilliant idea", as Miller put it. Set for a 2023 release, Beyond Paradise follows Poole's successor DI Humphrey Goodman (Love Actually's Kris Marshall) as he moves back to the UK

Jonathan Hordle

"I think it's a great idea to bring him back. It's only right that Death in Paradise should get a spinoff series as well," Miller added.

"It's been so successful, so popular for over 10 seasons now. And it's a world we want to explore a little more, isn't it? I think people really underestimate how hard it is to write and create Paradise because it's such an easy watch. You think it would be maybe easy to make, but it's not."

Could there be a chance for Miller to reprise the role of Poole in some capacity on this new chapter? After his surprise cameo last year, this isn't one to rule out completely.

Death in Paradise airs on BBC One.