Ben Miller revealed he almost drowned while filming Death in Paradise (Image: Getty)
once shared a harrowing tale of how he nearly drowned while filming the popular series in the Caribbean. The actor, 59, portrayed the first ever lead detective on Death in Paradise, starring as DI Richard Poole until January 2014. But Miller, who promised himself he would get into the sea every day while filming in Guadeloupe, found himself in a perilous situation when he ignored warnings and decided to take a dip in the sea, resulting in him being “thrashed to within an inch of his life”.
“I had a terrible experience at the beach barbecue the crew held for me when I arrived. There was a sign – in French – that said on no account go into the water on this beach,” he previously told Radio Times. “I remember thinking, ‘What absolute rubbish, it’s clearly for tourists’. I wandered out there casually to cool my feet and all of a sudden it was like a man under the sand grabbed my ankles and threw me over.
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Miller was the first lead detective on Death in Paradise (Image: Daily Mirror)
He continued: “I was rolled into the waves and thrashed to within an inch of my life, while frantically waving for help. Nobody noticed. I lost everything on me – my glasses, my wallet… every scrap of dignity I had.”
Miller added: “I finally found my feet and limped back to my room to get changed. When I returned to the barbecue the producer asked, ‘What on Earth kept you?’ I never admitted how stupid I’d been.”
The Johnny English star stepped away from his role on Death in Paradise after just over years. At the start of season three, Poole was murdered and DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) was sent to investigate the death of his predecessor.
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The actor stepped away from the role to spend more time with his family (Image: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Philip Volkers)
Miller had a good reason for leaving the role as he was about to become a father, and wanted to prioritise his family. He 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.”
He didn’t rule out a return and made a comeback as part of the show’s 10th anniversary with a ghostly cameo.
Miller was married to Belinda Stewart-Wilson, best known for playing Polly McKenzie in The Inbetweeners, from 2004 to 2011 before tying the knot with Jessica Parker in 2013.