Death in Paradise (TV series)

Death in Paradise is a British television crime drama series, broadcast on BBC One. Taking place on the fictional Caribbean island of Sainte-Marie, a British Overseas Territory, the series follows a series of Scotland Yard inspectors sent from the United Kingdom to head up the local police department and solve murders while adjusting to the island's unique atmosphere.

The series was created by Robert Thorogood and filmed primarily in Guadeloupe. A spin-off series, Beyond Paradise, featuring Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton reprising their roles from the main series, premiered in 2023.

Series 1

[1.01] Arriving in Paradise

Marlon Collins: Oh, come...! You can't put me in here!

Officer Dwayne Myers: Why? You want to go in there?

[He indicates the other holding cell, which is occupied by a goat. Marlon sighs and sits down in the first cell.]

Dwayne: [laughs] Maybe you should stop stealing yachts.

---

Det. Insp. Richard Poole: [on the phone with his superior in London] No, no, it's terrible. The airline have lost my luggage, it's about 400 degrees in the shade, and they've put me up in some kind of... shack.

---

Commissioner Selwyn Patterson: Sainte-Marie was colonized by the French, who lost it to the British, who lost it to the Dutch. The Dutch lost it back to the French. The French then handed it back to the British in the mid 70's. So, about 30 percent of the population is still French.

Richard Poole: French. Great. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.

---

Richard Poole: Look, don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Caribbean's great, beach holidays and snorkeling, but I can't work here, let alone live here. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but there's a tree growing through my front room!

[1.02] Wicked Wedding Night

Det. Sgt. Richard Poole: [showing his badge] I am a police officer, and I want a cup of tea!

---

Det. Sgt. Camille Bordey: I am a detective sergeant in the Sainte-Marie Police Force. I graduated top of my year. I have three commendations for bravery. I have been shot twice and I could almost certainly beat you in a fist fight. Whereas you, you are a rude man! You are ignorant, full of your own self-importance, expecting everyone to follow you around and hang on your every word? From now on, you treat me with a little more respect, or I'll be forced to forget I'm a police officer. Okay?

[1.03] Predicting Murder

Richard Poole: All right, that's enough. No one is to mention this prophecy again! We're detectives. We deal in physical evidence and forensic science. We do not stick pins into dolls and dance naked around the campfire!

Camille: Now that I'd like to see.

Richard Poole: Yeah well, it's not going to happen.

---

Camille: Voodoo has been part of this island for hundreds of years.

Richard Poole: So have cholera and TB and the French, and we managed to get rid of them in the end.

Camille: I am half French!

Richard Poole: There's no such thing as half French!

---

Camille: Nicholas Dunham is a killer.

Richard Poole: You can't possibly know that.

Camille: Intuition.

Richard Poole: Oh, great. Why don't we just go the whole hog, you know? I'll take my clothes off, you light the fire.

[a passer-by gives Camille a funny look]

Camille: [hastily] He's English!

[1.04] Missing a Body?

Camille Bordey: [about Richard's new rowboat, christened the "Roast Beef"] Well, are you going to give her a test?

Richard Poole: What, out there on the sea?

Camille Bordey: [sarcastic] No, no, on the road.

[1.05] Spot the Difference

Richard Poole: So we got a man murdered in broad daylight while handcuffed to a police officer, just over a thousand suspects, and it's a hundred degrees. Marvellous!

[1.08] Amongst Us

Commissioner Patterson: You can make an official complaint if you wish.

Poole: To whom?

Commissioner Patterson: The Police Commissioner.

Poole: ...That's you, isn't it?

Commissioner Patterson: (smugly) Mmm-hmm.

Series 2

[2.03] Death in the Clinic

Richard Poole: Well, imagine you're taking a midnight swim and I decide to drown you. What do you do?

[He puts his hands on Camille's shoulders. She grabs his arm and twists it behind his back.]

Richard Poole: [screams in pain, then calms down] Okay, let me rephrase that. You're not a trained police officer.

Camille Bordey: I'm not?

Richard Poole: No, you're a depressed woman... [straining] with no apparent aptitude for self-defence!

Camille Bordey: Oh. Okay, all right. [releases him]

---

Richard Poole: Hot stones, sauna, they're virtually sauteed, then they lie out in the sun, which basically amounts to grilling. Why don't they just go the whole hog and pop themselves in the microwave?

Camille Bordey: Have you finished?

Richard Poole: Sorry, was I ranting?

Camille Bordey:Yes.

Richard Poole: Well, quite frankly, Camille, some things qualify for a rant. I'm not sure what the exact criterion is, but I'm pretty sure it'd include holding a stranger's nipple in place while someone else sews it on!

[2.04] A Deadly Curse

Richard Poole: Can I ask where you were last night?

Joel Maurice: I was here.

Richard Poole: Alone?

Joel Maurice: No. I telephoned Beyonce, she came over and we had a wild night of hot, passionate sex.

Richard Poole: I see, and this Beyonce can vouch for that, can she?

[Later, outside]

Camille Bordey: I can't believe you don't know who Beyonce is!

Richard Poole: Why people can't just give a simple answer to a simple question, I'll never know.

[2.07] A Deadly Storm

[as Richard prepares to photograph a crime scene, the sun ducks behind a cloud]

Richard Poole: Oh, for God... [skyward, close to screaming] 300 days a year you shine ten hours a day, and the one time I actually want you to shine, YOU GO IN!

[The sun comes out. Richard photographs the scene, then looks skyward again.]

Richard Poole: [politely] Thank you.

[2.08] A Deadly Party

Richard Poole: [regarding his shrimp cocktail] You know, I could swear this lot are still alive. See, that one just winked at me.

Series 3

[3.01] Death of a Detective

DI Humphrey Goodman: You know, bizarrely, I'm the only one who never met Richard Poole. But during this case, I-I feel as if I've got to know him, a little - mostly by the effect he had on those around him. But it seems we all forgot one very crucial thing: he was a detective, a good one. Now I think he made a discovery, had a theory about what he discovered, and then sent home for evidence to corroborate that theory. And in doing so, he has, in essence, solved his own murder.

[3.04] Political Suicide

[Humphrey is digging on the beach, alone, while the rest of the team watches.]

Camille: He said he didn't need any help.

Dwayne: Oh, he needs help, all right.

Fidel: Just wait and see, Dwayne. There's a method to his madness. [pause] Not that I'm saying he isn't mad...

[Humphrey lets out a triumphant yell.]

Dwayne: No way.

Humphrey: Found it!

[They all rush over.]

Camille: What is it?

Humphrey: One minute, just hold on... [pulls a bag out of the sand, falling backwards onto the beach] ...and you'll be able to see!

Camille: Yeah, we saw that.

Dwayne: How the hell did you know that was there?

Humphrey: Oh, come on! You all knew there was a bag buried on the beach, you must have done.

Camille: Sure. [rolls her eyes]

Humphrey: [hands it to Fidel] Go on, officer, open it.

Fidel: No, no, no, you do it, sir.

Humphrey: Oh, I don't need to. I already know what's in it.

[Humphrey walks off. Camille and Dwayne immediately crowd Fidel.]

Dwayne: Open it up-!

Fidel: Hold on...!

[They all look inside, then look back at Humphrey in amazement.]

Fidel: [gleefully, to Dwayne] Method to the madness!

---

[at the conclusion of the case, the team celebrates at Catherine's bar; Dwayne brings a whole ice bucket filled with beers to the table.]

DI Humphrey Goodman: Man alive, that is what I call getting a round in!

Cast

• Ben Miller - D.I. Richard Poole (Seasons 1-3)
• Sara Martins - Det. Sgt. Camille Bordey (Seasons 1-4)
• Gary Carr - Officer/Sgt. Fidel Best (Seasons 1-3)
• Danny John-Jules - Officer Dwayne Meyers (Seasons 1-7)
• Kris Marshall - D.I. Humphrey Goodman (Seasons 3-6)
• Joséphine Jobert - Officer/Det. Sgt. Florence Cassell (Seasons 4-11)
• Tobi Bakare - Officer J.P. Hooper (Seasons 4-10)
• Ardal O'Hanlon - D.I. Jack Mooney (Seasons 6-9)
• Ralf Little - D.I. Neville Parker (Seasons 9-12)
• Tahj Miles - Officer/Sgt. Marlon Pryce (Seasons 10-12)
• Don Warrington - Commissioner Selwyn Patterson
• Elizabeth Bourgine - Catherine Bordey