Everything you need to know about the Channel 4 murder mystery competition written by Ian Rankin.
It was only a matter of time before the worlds of murder mystery and reality TV collided, and Channel 4 has done exactly that with Murder Island – a six-parter series in which contestants become detectives in a specially-curated crime thriller.
The reality series sees eight players, split into pairs, as they try to solve a murder mystery on the Scottish island of Gigha, written by renowned crime novelist Ian Rankin.
With just a week to tackle the crime and £50,000 up for grabs, the teams will have to impress the senior investigating officers watching over them if they want to walk away as Murder Island’s first winners.
Speaking to Radio Times magazine about the show, Ian Rankin said that he was initially hesitant to take the challenge on. “It’s such a dangerous thing to try to do, it’s mad! But it stretched me in all kinds of ways because this isn’t normally the way I operate.
“It was a challenge but a really entertaining one, and it kept me sane in the first few months of the year when we were still in lockdown.”
Read on for everything we know so far about Murder Island.
Murder Island release date
Murder Island begins on Tuesday 5th October at 9:30pm on Channel 4.
The six-part series will air weekly from then onwards.
What is Murder Island?
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Murder Island is a reality competition in which eight contestants become amateur detectives for a week whilst trying to solve a murder mystery written by successful novelist Ian Rankin (who is best know for his Inspector Rebus series).
“The civilian ‘detectives’ will have police resources at their disposal — pathologists, forensic scientists, psychologists etc,” Channel 4 teases.
“They will be competing to see if they can be the first to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.”
At the start of the murder mystery scenario, the contestants will find the body of Charly Hendricks at a rundown property she had been renting from the local landlord, and must find forensic clues to work out exactly who she is.
Throughout the week, the contestants will be watched by senior investigating officers, who’ll be offering their expert advice and picking out potential errors they’ve made.
Whichever pair manages to solve the murder and arrest the culprit first will win a prize of £50,000.
Where is Murder Island filmed?
Murder Island was filmed on the Scottish island of Gigha over the summer of 2021.
The island, which is found off the west coast of Kintyre, has a population of just 163 people and is home to an abundance of wildlife.
Who are the Murder Island police experts?
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Throughout the series, the contestants are watched over by senior investigating officer Parm Sandhu – a former Chief Superintendent with the Met Police, author and broadcaster.
She is joined by her deputies Simon Harding, a former Detective Chief Inspector with the Met Police who now runs a Specialist Crime Consulting Group, and Graham McMillan, a Detective Sergeant with the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.
Murder Island contestants
Channel 4 has not yet announced which eight contestants will be putting their sleuthing skills to the test on Murder Island so stay tuned for updates.
Murder Island trailer
Channel 4 is yet to release a full-length trailer for Murder Island – but we’ll update this page as and when a clip surfaces.
Murder Island begins on Tuesday 5th October at 9:30pm on Channel 4. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.