‘I wrote Death in Paradise – here’s one thing people still can’t grasp about the BBC show’
BBC bosses certainly didn't sugarcoat the struggles with writing and producing the award-winning show each year.
Death in Paradise bosses have revealed the hardest part about making the show (Image: BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Philippe Virapin)
Death in Paradise writers Tim Key and James Hall have revealed one of the hardest things people forget about producing the BBC crime drama. The Caribbean series launched back in 2010 and became an instant hit with viewers across the UK. Now celebrating its 15th anniversary on the airwaves, the programme has seen five lead detectives battle to solve crime on the sun-soaked island.
Currently, DI Mervin Wilson (played by Don Gilet) is struggling to get himself out of trouble after falling for his long-lost brother Solomon’s crooked schemes. As the series approaches its end, the BBC bosses have lifted the lid on what it’s really like working on the TV show.
The BBC show is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year (Image: BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Philippe Virapin)
During an appearance on the Ask the Write Questions podcast, the pair were quizzed about the latest series and their writing career. It didn’t take long before they were asked about the trickier parts of producing the show.
Executive Producer Tim confessed: “My short answer is incredibly tricky, really, really tricky. I think it’s without a single doubt the biggest creative challenge every year is not so much the murder scenarios but the puzzle, the trick.
“The trick is the thing that’s the hardest, and creating six, at least usually six suspects. Each one of whom has a motive and one of whom has two motives – because there’s one that takes you to them in the first place and then the other one, which is the actual reason they did it.
“And it’s probably the biggest misunderstanding about the show when everyone talks about it being a whodunnit. It’s really a howdunnit – and the ‘how’ is always the hardest part.”
He added: “Thinking of a world in which to set the crime is, we think, quite easy and quite often people come to us with a sort of headline puzzle, but without a solution.
“So, without a shadow of a doubt, the trick is the hardest part of the entire thing in my opinion and coming up with them is really, really difficult.”
It was at this point that James agreed, chiming in with: “Yeah, it is. It’s really hard. I think it only gets harder because the more episodes we make, the more our audience becomes savvy to the kind of tricks we use.
“So, it only gets harder because we have to think up new methods, and there’s kind of no rules to it. It’s kind of a very hard thing to approach. Every trick and every world presents its own different kind of choices, and every season it’s as daunting as it is the previous season.”
Over the past few weeks, the programme has suffererd several major schedule shake-ups due to overlapping shows, such as football matches and the upcoming Comic Relief programme.
But earlier this week, the air date of the final episode was announced, which is set to air on March 27. Taking to Instagram to share the news, they also confirmed it would be a double helping of the Paradise world as Beyond Paradise will also start its fourth series on the same day.
Death in Paradise is set to conclude on March 27th (Image: BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Philippe Virapin)
Sharing a post, they wrote: “Clear your schedules – on Friday, March 27, you won’t want to be anywhere but your sofa. #BeyondParadise and #DeathInParadise, BBC One and iPlayer from 8pm.”
It wasn’t long before people commented on the post, as one person said: “That sounds perfect viewing,” while someone else shared: “That’s a great Friday night lineup. Can’t wait till they’re both on Britbox.”
Another person added: “Ahhh yessss. I guessed that would be when it was! So excited.” While one fan commented: “Oh wow, I am excited about this, cannot wait.”
Beyond Paradise is set to see the return of DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) and Martha (Sally Bretton) for six new episodes.
A synopsis reads: “Fact and folklore blur as they investigate the death of a novelist who predicted their demise, a magical night of Dark Morris that soon turns sour, a stolen treasure map that suddenly reappears, and the alleged sighting of a vengeful mermaid lurking out at sea.”
