Ralf Little has admitted he didn’t choose to leave Death in Paradise, declaring he’d have continued in the role for “20 more years”.
Little, 44, became the longest-serving detective in the BBC crime drama series, which normally sees the leading man replaced every couple of years.
Former The Royle Family star Little made his debut on the Caribbean island show back in 2020 as Neville Parker, and fans recently became curious as to when he’d be making his exit for a new name to take over.
The actor replaced Father Ted star Ardal O'Hanlon, who starred for only three series as the island’s detective.
After a lot of speculation regarding Little’s character and his eventual departure from the role, Parker was seen in his final scenes setting off with his romantic interest Florence Cassell (played by Josephine Jobert).
Speaking this week about his sadness to be leaving the role, Little said: “This last series was always going to be my last series, I had talks with the BBC, and with Red Planet, the production company and we all agreed that it just felt...”
Ralf Little wanted to remain as Neville Parker on Death in Paradise
bbc
After some hesitation, he continued: “If it was in my heart, like if it was just a heart decision, I'd have wanted to do it for 20 more years.
“But just for the show, and... for my character Neville, it just sort of felt like his story... It deserved to be sort of finished and his sort of journey... Sort of deserved to be completed and he deserved a nice happy ending and so it just felt right," he told the BBC Breakfast presenters.
Now that he’s left, the new question on fans’ minds concerns Little’s replacement and what the new character will be like.
Unsurprisingly, some big names have already begun to swirl on the rumour mill, and betting companies have revealed some of the favourites tipped to make the move to Saint Marie soon.
Little became the show's longest-serving detective actor
BBC
According to Gambling.com’s entertainment expert James Leyfield, comedic actress Diane Morgan is the frontrunner to take over the role in a potential move that could bring a new dynamic to the show with a female lead.
The 48-year-old is best known for starring in BBC sitcom Motherland as well as several other comedy dramas.
She has been given odds of 6/4 to take on the role as the fifth detective.
Comedian Miranda Hart follows at a close second with odds of 2/1 and has previously been backed by a former Death In Paradise detective.
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Ralf joined the cast of the show as the protagonist in 2020
BBC
Ben Miller previously told RadioTimes.com: “I could see that, 100 per cent. I think that'd be good too. If we're playing fantasy detectives, Miranda Hart."
In other predictions, actor Martin Clunes is also among the theorised replacements.
Betideas.com reports the Men Behaving Badly star could be the one to step into Little's shoes.