Easter Special
TEN QUESTIONS WITH
He’s played TV sleuths, written children’s books and a sitcom — but will we see him again with Alexander Armstrong?
After studying natural sciences at Cambridge, Ben Miller moved into comedy, teaming up with fellow graduate Alexander Armstrong for four series of Armstrong and Miller and three of The Armstrong and Miller Show. In 2011, he played fish-out-of-water DI Richard Poole in Death in Paradise until he was killed off at the start of series three. Now 58, he reprises his other TV sleuth — germophobic criminologist Jasper Tempest — in series three of Professor T, which began last week on ITV1.
Professor T and Richard Poole are both super-smart but awkward. Which one are you most like?
I’d love being in the Caribbean myself, I had a great time there – I wasn’t like Richard Poole complaining about being in the sun all the time! So I’m probably closest to Professor T – that’s a life I very nearly lived, but for one sliding door. I could have easily found myself in the world of academia and become a really isolated figure.
The show is set in Cambridge and some of it is filmed in Belgium, so you still get to film abroad…
A lot of the interiors are in Belgium and a lot of our exteriors are in Cambridge – you just can’t replicate that. So, often if we’re in a building then coming out, the inside is in Belgium and the outside is in Cambridge! Even the lecture hall is in Belgium and that looks like it must be in a Cambridge college.
But it’s lovely to film back in Cambridge – there are lots of ghosts everywhere I go.
Both Professor T and Richard Poole are defined by their clothes. Is costume important in helping you find a character?
Enormously. I don’t really know what I’m doing until I find the right costume, which tends to drive my producers mad. I’m trying to find a hat at the moment for the fourth season of Professor T. It really helps in the way that he holds himself, as he has a unique physicality. It always comes back to me when I’ve got the suit and shoes on. With a lot of characters it’s all about the shoes.
You’ve now played Jasper Tempest for 18 episodes, the same number as you played DI Richard Poole. You’re about to start filming series four — will you stick with Tempest for a lot longer?
There’s a lot further to go, so much to excavate! The challenges Professor T faces are enormous and the story throws so many
curveballs, so it still feels very fertile to me.
You’re a fan of true crime documentaries. How good an armchair sleuth are yo
