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Death in Paradise's Ben Miller wasn't the first detective on the show - get the details

Ben played the second detective for two seasons 

death in paradise
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Death in Paradise stars Ben Miller and Danny John-Jules reunited to discuss their time on the show in early September - and they surprised fans by pointing out that while Ben is widely known to be the first detective in the series, this isn't actually the case!

READ: Why Death in Paradise star Ralf Little thought he had been reported as dead

As Danny pointed out during their chat with Em-Con, Ben's character DI Richard Poole is sent to the island to investigate the death of Charlie Hulme, played by Hugo Speer, who was found murdered in a locked panic room. 

WATCH: Death in Paradise forced to stop filming thanks to weather

As such, Ben was actually the second detective to join the island of St. Marie, who was then followed by Kris Marshall, Ardal O'Hanlon and Ralf Little. 

READ: Death in Paradise star Shyko Amos reveals her heart was broken by reaction to Ruby

Speaking about why he left the show after two series, Ben previously told Digital Spy: "Two weeks after I arrived in the Caribbean, Jessica found out that she was pregnant. I've just got divorced and I've finally met somebody and now I'm on the other side of the world and we're having a baby. That's a proper curveball to be on the end of. So I knew what I had to do to get my wife back – quit Death in Paradise!" 

charlie hulmes© Photo: BBC

Hugo Speer was St Marie's original detective 

DI Richard Poole was killed off in the season three opening episode after being murdered at a school reunion. Speaking about his death scene back in 2016, he said: "On balance, I think it was the right decision. It was a difficult thing to go through, it was a hard thing to see a character you love killed. And in a particularly brutal fashion!" 

He continued: "Not that anyone in Death in Paradise dies in a gentle way, they're always quite extreme!"

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