Death in Paradise could be in for a big change in the future. The BBC show is currently filming its 11th series which will see Ralf Little reprise his role as DI Neville Parker – but the producers have previously stated that they would cast a female lead to take over his role in future seasons.
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Chatting to the Guardian after the release of series ten in 2020, executive producer Tim Key was discussing who the next detective in line after Ralf could be on the murder mystery programme.
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"There's no rule it always has to be a man," he said. The role of the detective traditionally changes over the years, with big names like Ben Miller, Kris Marshall and Ardal O'Hanlon also taking on the starring role in the past, meaning after Ralf it could be an opportunity for the show to recruit a female actor take the lead.
However, it seems Ralf isn't going anywhere anytime soon as the actor has been busy in Guadeloupe this summer filming for the upcoming eleventh series. Although Neville will be back for the new episodes, the actor has admitted in the past that he was uncertain about his future beyond that point.
Chatting to HELLO! for an exclusive interview, the actor explained: "I don't have an end date in mind. I'll definitely be coming back for this one [season 11] without question and look, I just love it. I love the show; I love being in the show.
"I love working on the show. I'm a fan of it. I just absolutely love it, so I'm not in any hurry to finish. So who knows, I've got no plans either way. I'm certainly possibly the most well suited to it of all the detectives so far because I don't have the same family commitments."
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© Photo: BBCRalf Little as DI Neville Parker in Death in Paradise
Although the main character tends to wave goodbye to the island of Saint Marie and never return, there was one familiar face that made a reappearance. Ben Miller, who played DI Richard Poole for the first few seasons of the show, revealed shortly before series ten arrived on screens that he was reprising his role.
Opening up about his time again on the show, he told Good Morning Britain: "I thought he was gone for good [too], he was murdered in the show in season three, and he was stabbed in the heart with an ice-pick. No one was more surprised than me then a script-writer [told me]. It's very cleverly done, I have to say, it's beautifully done."
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