Writer Paul Doolan on his new BBC comedy-crime series Death Valley

Hot on the heels of Ludwig, the BBC's new comedy-detective series Death Valley starts on Sunday. Set in Wales it stars Gwyneth Keyworth as DS Janie Mallowan teams up with eccentric national treasure and beloved TV detective John Chapel (Timothy Spall) to solve a murder a week. Here creator Paul Doolan talks about the show and his genuine love of detective stories...

How did the idea for Death Valley come about?

It was that classic thing of writing what you wish was on TV. I’m a huge murder-mystery fan and a massive comedy fan but felt that you hardly see them combined in a satisfying way. So many crime shows are relentlessly grim with these joyless, troubled detectives. 

‘When murder mysteries try to do comedy, it often falls flat. You get this kind of overly cosy, twee sensibility. Or a spoof which is crammed full of jokes but doesn’t have a satisfying mystery. I wanted to see a comedy, crime drama that was funny but would still satisfy the people that love a proper mystery.

When it came to drilling down what the partnership at the centre of it would be, my agents represent quite a lot of famous TV detectives. I am such a fan and there is something quite interesting about the dynamic of a TV detective and their biggest fan.

I then took this idea and explored whether it would be more interesting to solve murders together and what if the fan was also a detective? The different layers then became a retired actor who played a detective who helps his number one fan, who's an actual detective solve murders!

Just how much of a fan are you?

Some people would say to a worrying degree! My recently departed dog was called Marple, and I now have another named after Dorothy L Sayers. The tables at my wedding were all named after television detectives.

When it comes to choosing a favourite, it has to be Agatha Christie and if I had to choose a favourite TV character it would be the Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple, but it really is like choosing a favourite child.

You’re a comedy writer, how was it putting your writing skills to a murder mystery?

Making the switch was terrifying at first, because it seems like such a different skillset. On Death Valley, you have to tell the story of the murder, track the suspects and their motives, tell a personal story for the detectives every week and keep a series arc spinning, all in 45 minutes.

It was overwhelming at first but the more you do it, the more you realise it’s like comedy. You need to set things up to call back later, try to surprise the audience and send them in the wrong direction. I think comedy gets looked down on sometimes, but people forget with comedy it still has to have all the structure of a drama and be funny. Comedy is hard.

How would you describe the two lead characters Janie Mallowan and John Chapel?

In many ways, they are complete opposites. He is a retired national treasure, an actor who is a bit of a luvvie and he can be a bit pretentious. Janie is this very down-to-earth, no-filter detective who is his biggest fan but will tell him off in a way few people ever have. 

They haven’t got massive friendship groups, both are loners. It’s a weird pairing because it really shouldn’t work. They don’t have anything in common outside of an attachment to Caesar, a fictional TV show, but despite all their differences, they're soulmates from the off.

Can you tell us more about Caesar?

In many ways, Caesar is the third detective in the show. He is really important to both our characters. He is the role that defined John and the reason he’s recognised everywhere he goes but he also resents it, it’s a bit of an albatross. It’s something John needs to overcome. 

Janie is on the other end of that spectrum; she loves Caesar too much. There was a dark period in her past and the thing that helped her out was endlessly watching Caesar. They are both damaged people who are both clinging on to this fictional detective.

Did you manage to sneak in any nods to other detectives we should look out for?

There are definitely a lot of nods to Agatha Christie, so for example, Janie Mallowan is a composite as Agatha Christie was also known as Lady Mallowan. The TV character Jane Marple is where Janie comes from. 

Also in episode five, we get to have a locked-room murder mystery episode and that feels very Agatha Christie. I love the scenes in Agatha Christie dramas where everyone is gathered around, and the detective goes round each person and says why they did or didn’t do it. Getting to do those in every episode in Death Valley and having a nod to that was fun.

How does it feel seeing Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth bring your characters to life?

It was amazing and beyond anything I could ever hope for. I can’t wait for people to see them together. What I have written on the page was a fast comedy partnership with bits of drama. But it is all about the pace and you get actors like Tim and Gwyneth who come along, and they elevate everything. It makes you look so much better as a writer than you are. 

I reached a point halfway through filming where I realised, they knew these characters better than I did. You are almost passing the baton on to them, and it is like sending your child to school and waving them off at the gates.

What makes Death Valley different to other comedy crime dramas?

The tone. It is a hybrid comedy crime drama, and I didn’t want it to skimp on any of those ingredients. It’s not a spoof, it’s not poking fun at any of those genres, as I love comedy and crime drama. I wanted audiences to go away feeling satisfied and hopefully, they won’t be shortchanged by the jokes. I always wanted it to stay loyal to a modern whodunit where the audience is trying to solve it as they go along.

There is a case a week, tell us about the different cases and the inspiration behind them?

In episode one, there is the death of a property developer. We wanted it to be John’s neighbour and that’s how we could draw him in, but it’s also useful to setting up what the show isn’t. We don’t want it to be too cosy crime and chocolate boxy. By having new builds and flash modern characters, it reassures the audience you are going to get something different.

In episode two, there is a murder within a walking group. I have always wanted to show off these different kinds of people and show off the countryside, especially in Wales. My mum is in a walking group, and I find these groups fascinating. It’s a chance to pick them apart and see what is going on. Later in the series, there is a murder mystery weekend and that was me wanting to have my cake and eat it! It allowed us to have the big, traditional country house murder mystery we all recognise from television but with our funny, modern-day characters in it.

What would you say are the key themes in Death Valley?

Companionship. So much is about John and Janie, this oddball couple who shouldn’t have anything in common. It’s about embracing what people have in common rather than what separates people. It’s shining a light on how people need someone to get over loss or difficult situations. Positivity is another big theme. You can take what is quite a bleak setting and people, who on paper should feel quite damaged, and say: ‘no these are fun characters, and we want to spend time with them’ as that is how life works.

What makes a great murder mystery?

On one level, it’s like a puzzle – tidy, constructed, satisfying and solvable. There are certain rules of murder mysteries, and you want people to feel pleased if they have solved it or annoyed if they haven’t. Beyond that, you also need to have fun, intriguing characters and an interesting world with something dramatic that isn’t just a murder.

Can you sum up Death Valley in three words?

Funny, modern, murder

» Timothy Spall: 'Tragedy is a piece of piss'

• Death Valley starts on BBC One and iPlayer at 8.15pm on Sunday.

Published: 20 May 2025