Death In Paradise may have scooped the Favourite Cosy Crime Drama gong in this year’s ED! Awards, but its former star Ben Miller has no regrets about leaving the murder-mystery series.
“I think I left at the right time, creatively. But I think it’s such a credit to the team who make it that they have grown the show in the way that they have.
“And I think Ralf Little is brilliant as well.”
Ben Miller on his time on Death In Paradise
The actor, who was most recently seen in mystery series Professor T, also said that he looks back on the show with great fondness.
He said Death In Paradise gave him the opportunity to move away from the comedy shows he was associated with.
In spite of the success of the show, Ben decided to quit the role of Richard Poole after finding out his wife was pregnant.
He did, however, make a cameo appearance in an episode that marked the show’s 10th anniversary.
Ben’s love of twisty mysteries led him to take on the title role of Professor T in the smash hit ITV drama, which also proved popular with ED! readers.
“I love detective shows. I think that’s why I’ve ended up doing two of them,” he told us.
“When I was younger I used to love shows like Colombo. But Inspector Morse was absolutely wonderful. So being in a show like Professor T is the closest I’m going to get to be playing Morse.
“Both are set in Cambridge with all those beautiful colleges and I think there’s nothing better than a really beautiful setting for murder.”
On the success of Professor T
While he credits the great works of Agatha Christie for inspiring shows like Inspector Morse and Death In Paradise, he reckons a lot of modern series are taking their lead from ‘Scandi Noir’ shows like Bergen.
“Those Scandinavian shows tell slightly darker, more realistic stories,” he mused.
“What’s interesting for me about Professor T is that it’s Agatha Christie meets Scandi Noir. You have this very neat whodunnit colliding with really quite edgy personal stories for the main characters. The two work really well together.”
In fact, Ben admits that he thinks the mysteries are a lot darker than viewers would be used to in the usual cosy crime caper.
“Sometimes I can’t believe some of the crimes that take place in the show – they’re completely out of keeping with the turf for this genre of show.
“I mean, in the second season, there’s some really dark crimes that you can really see were influenced from the Scandi world.
“The great thing about Professor T is that it’s not really afraid to be quite dark and also quite comic and, and light which is great fun to play.”
Series three confirmed
Fans of the show left wondering what secrets Professor T’s mum – played by Frances de la Tour – is hiding will be pleased to hear that a third series will be with us by the end of next year.
“We just got recommissioned and will start filming after Easter,” Ben told us triumphantly, adding that the decision hadn’t been a clear cut one.
“Starting a TV show now is a bit like runners in the London Marathon. What kind of costume should they wear to stand out? So it’s very rewarding to be asked to do more.
“None of us take it for granted when shows get recommissioned because these days. Especially with streaming platforms, you only tend to get a couple of seasons. If you get to season three, feel pretty grateful.”
Ben Miller teams up with GMB
Away from solving crimes, Ben recently teamed up with Good Morning Britain to write and direct a film clip to support their Million Minutes campaign.
It encouraged people to spend their spare time with lonely people around the UK.
Ben told us that working on the short film brought back memories of his father. He passed away in 2011.
Although a lot of time has passed, he admitted there are still moments when the feelings of loss overpower him.
“When you lose anybody who’s really close to you it’s really hard to get over.
“The two strange things about death is the finality of it and the fact that it just doesn’t ever seem real. Grief is something you process over a long period of time.
“My father died in 2011, and while I was writing the film it all came flooding back to me again. But I understand that’s quite a common experience. You think you’ve dealt with it, but you haven’t. You’ve just gone through one particular phase of it.”
Death In Paradise star Ben Miller on his legacy
Thinking about the future, he said writing his books that feature kids Sonny, Harrison and Lana will be his way of leaving a legacy behind for them.
But he admits that right now they are less than impressed by them.
“They are completely uninterested in my books.
“They’re like: ‘Oh Dad, another one of your books?!’
“Thanks so much. I’m actually writing a story at the moment and I’m really enjoying it. Every night I read some of it to my kids. As they’re the same age as my readers, I get to try the stories out on them.”
Missing out on Hollywood role
Having achieved so many remarkable things over the years, the actor, who studied Science at Cambridge Uni, admitted he has few regrets.
However, he did reveal he has been disappointed for missing out on various dream roles along the way.
“I’ve obviously got far less that I’ve auditioned for. I mean, you end up actually doing probably one tenth of the projects you discuss. So there’s loads and loads I haven’t got.
“One part I was really up for in that amazing Michel Gondry film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind that starred Jim Carey and Kate Winslet, but didn’t get it.
“Mark Ruffalo got the part instead. All I can remember is him jumping up and down on a mattress with very thick glasses and me thinking that could have been me.”
Playing Bridgerton’s Lord Featherington
But for every great role he’s missed out on, Ben has landed his fair share of great ones, including Lord Featherington in Bridgerton.
It’s an experience, he told us, that was quite extraordinary,
“I have been on some big film sets in my time, but the show was like way beyond anything I could have ever imagined. It was on an enormous scale.
“”Like the number of stages, the warehouse full of tens of millions of pounds worth of costumes. I mean, it was just like conceived on such an enormous scale in a way that only Hollywood studios do.”
While the first series became a global smash hit on Netflix, Ben admitted he was surprised.
“We finished filming it just before the pandemic hit. Then we heard nothing about it because lockdown rules mean the editing process wasn’t able to happen easily,” he said.
“And then with no forewarning at all, it dropped on Christmas Day.
“You can never predict that something’s going to be that successful. Something like that is so huge you don’t have any way of understanding that.”
Ben eyes Bridgerton return
However, when he saw the finished product on screen, Ben understood exactly why the show resonated with viewers so much.
“It was completely the right time when people really needed some froth and fun and some substance.
“It might have been an easy watch but there’s quite a lot going on in it, deep stuff about race.
“And like all costume dramas, it cast a light on what’s happening now, using Regency Britain and Regency London particularly, as a lens for Britain now.”
In spite of the show’s global success, Ben said it’s the role he is least recognised for.
He admitted: “The last thing people expect is the shabby bloke sitting opposite them on the tube is that Lord from Bridgerton.”
Although Lord Featherington was killed off on the show, Ben is ever hopeful of a return, reassured by the fact his character wasn’t murdered on-screen.
“I’d be happy to go back if they could find a way.”
What’s next for Death In Paradise icon Ben Miller?
As we enter 2023, Ben revealed he is hopeful that after a year of Parliamentary musical chairs, the world recovering from a global pandemic, a war raging in Ukraine and the death of our Queen, things start to look up for the entire world.
“In the period immediately following the pandemic in the 20th century was just incredibly tumultuous,” he said in reference to the financial crisis and First World War that followed the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.
“There were huge and terrifying events in the aftermath of the pandemic. And I can only hope that we have an easier ride than we had in the 20th century.
“Things have become incredibly unsettled. It feels like the whole political universe has shifted on its axis. It feels like we are at a cultural tipping point in all kinds of ways. Virtually every area you can point to is in crisis, isn’t it?”
Aware that the world is in turmoil and scary headlines dominate bombard us all, Ben said he’s hit upon a way for him not to fret too much about what is going on.
“The way I’m dealing with it is to focus more on what’s immediately around me, like family, rather than terrifying myself to the core with global news stories.
“It’s quite easy to get overwhelmed.”
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