Thread by @garius

Okay, if @jonawils is allowed to fess up to being a Death in Paradise fan and talk seriously about it, so am I.

Good luck to Ralf Little. Looking forward to it, but can we agree how AMAZING DiP would be if they cast Lenny Henry as the inspector though please?

Here's why:

https://twitter.com/jonawils/status/1186991378586312704

Let's start by accepting that the whole schtick behind DiP has always been a bit dodgy.

Yes, it's a easy-watching, fish-out-of-water detective show with pretty Caribbean scenery, but it's also one that implicitly relies on the historical relationship between Britain and Empire.

Whilst on the one hand the show wouldn't work without that, it means it has to walk a VERY fine line between "British cop working abroad" and "White Motherlander telling the ex-colonials what to do."

That's a weakness, BUT it could very easily be turned into a strength.

Modern Britain is BUILT on that relationship. We are all defined by it. British history is black history and vice-versa.

As a show, DiP could stop trying to walk the tightrope between the two and jump straight off:

Make the inspector a black, British cop with Saint-Marie roots.

One of the issues the show has had in recent years has been giving the inspector's sub-plot depth. Ardal was great, but all they could give him to work with was a fridged wife (to use a comics term) and that limited him.

Having a black, British inspector would allow the show (and the BBC) to explore the complexity of both their, and OUR relationship with the Caribbean. It would allow the history of the police and race to be explored in the same way.

And don't tell me that's impossible for a comedy to do. Brooklyn 99 has done it BRILLIANTLY with Captain Holt

We're the nation that created Blackadder Goes Forth and Fleabag, ffs. We LIVE for hiding complex issues beneath a layer of comedy.

Just as importantly though, it would be a fresh, but thoughtful, subplot that would compliment the setting AND expose a bunch of people to a side of being British they haven't experienced. That's a rare luxury to have and it amazes me that the BBC haven't jumped on it yet.

Does the inspector feel British? Do they feel Saint-Marian? Do they feel torn between both? How does the island compare to the vision their parents gave them? Did they experience institutional racism in the UK police? How do they react to seeing it here (or the lack of it)?

All these are topics that can suddenly be explored, while happily solving celebrity murders along the way.

And they're also why I think Lenny Henry would be PERFECT for it (although plenty of other male/female black actors could do it too).

Henry is a brilliant actor and comedian, but one who has also looked to explore many of these issues in his own work.

With Chef, he pushed the boundaries of what black actors were allowed to do with 'straight' sitcom. It feels only fair to give him the chance again here

He's also been open about how many of these questions have affected him personally.

If you can find it, watch "Lenny Henry, Commonwealth Kid." bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09…

It's an accidental audition reel for a role like this.

Nor does that exploration of the melting pot of our culture have to end with the casting. Why not treat this as an opportunity to let new black, British TV and crimewriters have a slice of the action too?

Anyway. That's my probably-more-serious-than-any-of-you-want thread on Death in Paradise.

Good luck to Ralf Little! Looking forward to it! But I do hope that before the show inevitably ends (as all good things do) it realises it has a chance to do something GENUINELY special.