Ben Miller delighted fans in the summer when he said that he'd "love" to be involved in the new Death in Paradise spin-off series, Beyond Paradise. However, it looks like fans might not be seeing him reprise his role as DI Richard Poole after all.
MORE: Josephine Jobert shares nostalgic Death in Paradise 'souvenir' after quitting show
In a new interview, the actor expressed his sadness over never playing the character again.
WATCH: See Ben Miller's cameo in series ten of Death in Paradise
"I've loved every character that I've played. I really miss Richard Poole from Death in Paradise," he told RadioTimes.com.
"He's a wonderful, wonderful character. And inevitably there's a sort of sadness in me that I'm not going to get to play him again. You miss them."
All hope is not lost, however, as despite Ben's character being killed off at the beginning of the third season, the actor made a comeback in series ten as a figment of DS Camille Bordey's imagination. So what's to say he won't surprise fans with another return?
MORE: Death in Paradise season 12: everything we know so far
MORE: Ralf Little gives warning about character in Death in Paradise season 12
Talking to HELLO! back in July about the upcoming spin-off, which will see Kris Marshall return as DI Humphrey Goodman, Ben spoke about potentially appearing in the series. He said: "God I'd love to, is he [Kris] really? That's so exciting, that's brilliant news! I'd love to, I mean it's Kris – don't forget your mates. It's exciting, really great, I wonder how that's going to work? Is he going to be on another Caribbean island? I look forward to that, that's really brilliant news."
Ben played the show's first ever detective, DI Richard Poole
For those unfamiliar with the new spin-off series, it will focus on Humphrey and his fiancée Martha, who is played by Sally Bretton, as they return from Guadeloupe to the UK.
Set on the southwest coast of Cornwall, the new drama will follow the pair as they seek a quieter life away from the stress of the city but "soon find that country life is anything but peaceful," according to the synopsis. "Humphrey can't help but be distracted by the town's surprisingly high crime rate with a new, and very different, case challenging him each episode."
Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.