Former Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon stepped into Kris Marshall’s shoes as Death In Paradise’s new detective tonight, but fans of the series missed the old lead.
Last week, Kris bowed out of the BBC One crime series as his character Humphrey decided to stay in London, swapping roles with Ardal’s detective Jack Mooney.
But some of the audience struggled to embrace the cast change, complaining that the programme just wasn’t the same without Kris.
Fans of Death In Paradise mostly agreed that they had preferred Kris’s Humphrey as island detective.
Although some still wished that the original sleuth played by Ben Miller had not been killed off.
However, it wasn’t all bad news for Ardal as some viewers admitted to liking his character more than Kris’s.
It’s early days for the new detective – let’s see how he fares next week.
Kris Marshall revealed he quit the sun-drenched drama for his family, but speculation is rife that there’s another reason for his departure.
Fans think it’s a bit of a coincidence that he’s stepped down from the popular role of DI Humphrey Goodman, in the same week as Peter Capaldi announced he was quitting Doctor Who.
Is Kris Marshall the new Doctor?!
Read more: Kris Marshall quits Death in Paradise
Ben Whishaw had previously been the favourite to take on the iconic role, but since Kris’s exit from the Caribbean drama was made public, it’s seen him shot to the top of the odds table.
His nearest competitor is Olivia Colman amid much speculation the next Doctor will be a woman.
Fans were quick to tweet their opinions about the news.
Craig Beast Palmer said: “Would love to see Kris Marshall as the 13th Doctor”.
Would love to see Kris Marshall as the 13th Doctor and not to be a female Doctor #DoctorWho @bbcdoctorwho
— 🏳️⚧️Craig Palmer🏳️🌈 (@craigthefool23) February 3, 2017
And Beci Wood agreed: “Loving the Kris Marshall Doctor Who rumour. He’d be great! [sic]”
Loving the #KrisMarshall #DrWho rumour. He'd be great!
— Beci Wood (@beciwood) February 3, 2017
Some fans, including Ruth, felt it would be a good reason to tune into the sci-fi drama:
“If Kris Marshall is the next Doctor Who then I will start watching it… He would be perfect for it [sic”.
If #KrisMarshall is the next #DrWho then I will start watching it.. He would be perfect for it
— Ruth (@RuthCheeseman) February 3, 2017
Jo would “love Kris Marshall to be the new Doctor!”
https://twitter.com/Tegan_Jovanka/status/827464978311610368
And user Greg Halliwell thinks it’s a sure thing “Kris Marshall is definitely gonna be the next Doctor Who [sic]”.
https://twitter.com/GregHalliwell1/status/827283780071149569
Kris has starred in Death in Paradise for the past four years after he took over the lead from Ben Miller.
Read more: Top ITV drama AXED
The crime drama, set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, takes six months to film each year on the island of Guadeloupe, and being away from home became too much for Kris.
Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ben Shepherd on Good Morning Britain, Kris, who has two young children, Tom and Elsie, with his wife Hannah, revealed his family was the reason for his departure:
“This last series I did on my own, which was quite tough,” he explained.
“Skyping just leaves me bereft and then I have to go and drown my sorrows in the bar.
“In previous years I’ve been able to take my family with me but we had a daughter this time last year and so bringing her and my son, he’s about to start school, and it all became a bit of a juggling mission.
“So that was really the reason behind it.”