Ben Miller says watching his Death in Paradise murder was "weird and disturbing"
The original 'tec on Saint-Marie hasn't been able to leave his screen murder behind.
Ben Miller says his exit from hit BBC One Caribbean murder-mystery series Death in Paradise at the end of series three was "weird and disturbing... It’s not pleasant to watch yourself being killed."
Miller is making a brief return to the drama in the upcoming season 10 – quite how it happens is the subject of much speculation – but he talked to The Guardian about his demise as DI Richard Poole.
Quizzed about which TV death he believed was the saddest, Miller said: "My own, when I was killed off as a detective in Death in Paradise. I was stabbed in the chest with an ice pick in a brutal murder at the start of season three."
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He continued: "Leaving a show is always emotional, and then you have to hang around the set like a ghost while people avoid catching your eye. Watching the episode at home, though, was weird and disturbing. It’s not pleasant to watch yourself being killed and lying dead on the ground.
"The image of me, caked in grey make-up with blue lips, blood dripping from my wounds, will forever be scorched on my mind."
For many Death in Paradise fans, DI Poole remains their favourite detective on the fictional island of Saint Marie. Miller explained that he left "the job of a lifetime" for family reasons.
He told Radio Times in 2013: "I arrived out here for the first series and within a few weeks my wife, Jessica, discovered she was pregnant. That threw everything because it meant she couldn’t come and visit me for the six months I was out here."
As well, his son, Sonny, didn't recognise him when he returned at the end of season two.
"My personal circumstances just made it too complicated, but I will miss it like a lung. I love it here," he said.
Miller was replaced in the Death in Paradise cast by Kris Marshall (DI Humphrey Goodman), who starred for four seasons until Ardal O'Hanlon (DI Jack Mooney) took over. Ralf Little (DI Neville Parker) is the current fish out of water sleuth in Death in Paradise.
Death in Paradise season 10 is likely to screen on BBC One early in the New Year.
Check out what else is on with our TV Guide, or take a look at our new TV shows 2020 page to find out what's airing this autumn and beyond.
