Death in Paradise is based on an extraordinary true story fans never knew about
BBC detective drama Death in Paradise's premise was inspired by a suspicious and high-profile death.
Ben Miller was the first Death in Paradise detective
Death in Paradise fans will not believe how the popular detective drama came about.
Hit series Death in Paradise continues to be a BBC staple, with the 15th season having just come to an end with an eye-opening finale.
The much-loved detective series, which spawned the spin-off Beyond Paradise, first aired in 2011 when Ben Miller starred as DI Richard Poole.
The detective was sent from the Metropolitan Police in London to investigate the murder of a British police officer on the fictional island of Saint Marie.
Fans may be interested to hear this idea was actually inspired by a true story, with creator Robert Thorogood sharing: “The idea came about when Bob Woolmer, the Pakistani cricket coach, died in suspicious circumstances in St Lucia during the Cricket World Cup of 2007.
“We sent over a British copper to solve his murder because he had a British passport. I thought there could be a show in that.”
Bob Woolmer was an English cricket star
Bob Woolmer was an English cricket star who coached South Africa, Warwickshire and Pakistan. During his coaching career with South Africa, he led the team to win the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy.
On March 18, 2007, the coach died suddenly in Jamaica, just a few hours after the Pakistan team’s unexpected elimination at the 2007 Cricket World Cup against Ireland.
Shortly afterwards, Jamaican police opened a murder investigation into his death, but after eight months, a jury in Jamaica recorded an open verdict.
Bob was found dead in his hotel room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston and the initial report was that he had died of a heart attack.
However, an investigation was launched because of the circumstances of Woolmer’s death, based on a report by a pathologist that he had been strangled.
Death in Paradise was inspired by a real mystery(Image: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)
Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields, who had worked for the Met Police, had been sent in to lead the investigation.
Three months after his death, the commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force announced the investigation had concluded he had died of natural causes, not murder.
Reports suggested he suffered from health problems including an enlarged heart and diabetes, which may have contributed to his death.
After hearing 26 days of evidence, the jury at the inquest returned an open verdict, refusing to rule out the controversial strangulation theory.
The case was then closed, with Shields saying at the time: “We do not intend to go any further with these investigations.”
