The real crime that inspired BBC’s Death in Paradise
The beloved BBC crime drama has gone from strength to strength since it launched in 2011.
After its 2011 premiere, Death in Paradise has enjoyed massive and long-lasting success, and is still going strong with an average of five million viewers per episode. The BBC series transports fans to the sun-soaked fictional island of Saint Marie, where British detective Mervin Wilson (played by Don Gilet) and the officers at Honoré Police Station investigate gritty crimes and neatly solve the whodunit trope within each episode.
Viewers have remained loyal to the show throughout its revolving door of lead stars, including Ardal O'Hanlon, Kris Marshall, Ralf Little and Ben Miller. Yet, many will be surprised to learn that Death in Paradise was, in fact, inspired by true events, following the mysterious murder of English cricket coach Bob Woolmer in 2007. While the drama is an onscreen adaptation of show creator Robert Thorogood's book series of the same name, he admitted to being struck by the sudden death.
In 2007, the world of sport and true crime was rocked when Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan national cricket team coach, was found dead in his Kingston hotel. He had travelled to the island with the team for the Cricket World Cup, but his body was discovered just one day after a shocking defeat to Ireland knocked heavily favoured Pakistan out of the World Cup.
Although initial reports claimed Woolmer died of a heart attack, pathologists later confirmed that the 58-year-old had died of asphyxia caused by manual strangulation. The Jamaican Constabulary Force launched a major murder investigation before being assisted by the Metropolitan police.
By June, following contradictory reports from three independent pathologists, toxicology tests revealing no poison, and an extensive review by Scotland Yard, the police officially announced that Woolmer had died of natural causes. In response, rumours immediately swirled about foul play and match-fixing, as angry fans raged against the investigation.
Later, in an interview with Fox News, former South African cricketer Clive Rice claimed that Woolmer was murdered by organised crime groups, saying: "These mafia betting syndicates do not stop at anything and they do not care who gets in their way".
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell had also gone on record stating that he "doubts that he died of natural causes" and speculated that Woolmer may have been about to reveal "some misgivings".
During an inquest held later that year in November, a Jamaican jury returned an open verdict, citing insufficient conclusive evidence to definitively rule the death as either murder or natural causes, which continued to leave lingering questions.
