Death in Paradise: Is Ralf Little leaving BBC show and who could replace him as Neville Parker?

Death in Paradise fans will be eagerly tuning into the season 13 finale tonight to see what happens to DI Neville Parker, played by Ralf Little.

Last week's episode revealed the bombshell that his character was questioning his future on Saint Marie. Little has been a firm fixture in the series and is the longest standing detective, having starred in the role for five years.

Whilst there has been no confirmation from Little on whether or not he will be leaving the BBC series, fans have been quick to speculate whether the actor will be leaving Saint Marie for good. Here's everything we know so far about whether Ralf Little will be leaving Death in Paradise.

Is Ralf Little leaving Death in Paradise?

Fans have been speculating that Ralf Little is leaving Death in Paradise after last Sunday's (March 10) episode revealed that his character DI Neville Parker was questioning his future on Saint Marie.

In the episode, Parker decided he needed to travel and move away from the island after admitting to DS Naomi Thomas (Shantol Jackson) that he was haunted by his past heartbreak. The first time with DS Florence Cassell (Josephine Jobert) and the second with ex Rebecca, who turned out to be pretending to be someone else called Sophie.

In a shock twist, at the end of the episode his former flame Cassell called the Commissioner (Don Warrington) to say she had left witness protection and was heading home to Saint Marie, but will she be able to make it back in time to the island before Parker leaves?

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Following the episode the BBC released first-look images which share a glimpse of Parker getting onto a plane at the airport hinting he could be leaving the island for good. In another photo, Naomi Thomas (Shantol Jackson) is holding a goodbye banner with the detective's name on it and in the final image Parker is seen holding a blue balloon at the police station.

What has Ralf Little said about leaving Death in Paradise?

There has been no official confirmation that Little is leaving Death in Paradise, but the actor who plays Parker is the longest-standing detective on the series, having starred in the role for five years.

Speaking about this achievement in an interview with Hello in 2022 he said: "I think officially I am now which I didn't expect and it does mean a lot to me, actually. It does. I think it's really, really fulfilling and flattering to have been able to do it for as long as I have. Like Neville, I joked about him having his feet under the table but still having his challenges, this is a challenging job. It is beautiful, but it does have its challenges."

He added: "It's exhausting. It's physically demanding. It's relentless in terms of every day you're out there and it's hot and tiring and mentally tiring. Like when you work hard. We do. But I just love it."

Reported by Digital Spy, during a recent Instagram Q&A session in February, when asked if his character would be replaced, Little said: "I don't know. I have no idea, I'm not gonna swerve answering the question. I don't know. I don't know which direction they're gonna go in."

Who could replace Neville Parker?

Whilst there has been no official confirmation that Little is hanging up the role of Parker, fans have been left to speculate about who could replace him if he does indeed leave Death in Paradise. Possibilities include Josephine Jobert who is returning to the series as DS Florence Cassell, Martin Clunes who has finished filming Doc Martin or Matthew Horne who has previously starred in the show as Leo Downs.

Who has previously played a Detective Inspector in Death in Paradise?

Ralf Little's predecessors were Ben Miller, who was DI Richard Poole for 18 episodes from 2011 to 2014; Kris Marshall who played DI Humphrey Goodman in 30 episodes from 2014 to 2017, and Ardal O'Hanlon, who was DI Jack Mooney for 24 episodes from 2017 to 2020.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.