A Death in Paradise former detective has had his say on who would be the perfect replacement for Ralf Little on the hit BBC show - and we would love it if this actually happened!
Ben Miller, who played DI Richard Poole for the first two seasons of the beloved show, revealed that he would love to see Mr Bates vs The Post Office star Toby Jones take on the next St Marie detective, saying: “Oh my God, there are so many people who’d be brilliant. Toby Jones, that’s who I’d like to see.”
Toby, 57, is an actor who is perhaps best known for playing Dobby in Harry Potter, as well as starring in the Detectorists, The Long Shadow and The English.
He previously suggested that a woman could become the new detective, telling the Radio Times: “That could definitely work. I could see that, 100%. I think that'd be good too. If we’re playing fantasy detectives, Miranda Hart.”
Ben left the show in 2013 as his wife Jessica was pregnant. He told the Radio Times: “That threw everything because it meant she couldn't come and visit me for the six months I was out here.
“During the second series, my son Sonny was starting school – your first year of school is so important – and I did think about him coming over here but I'm divorced from his mum, and it wasn't very practical. Then when I came back, I picked up my baby son Harrison and he started crying because he didn't know who I was. My personal circumstances just made it too complicated, but I will miss it like a lung. I love it here.”
The latest detective, Ralf, also spoke about how he would have loved to have stayed on the show, telling BBC Breakfast: “You know, this last series was always going to be my last series. I spoke to the BBC and Red Planet, the production company, and we all agreed.
“If it was just a heart decision I would 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 was finished and his journey deserved to be completed. He deserved a happy ending and it just felt right.”
There has been a lot of talk about who might replace Ralf, with Harry Potter star Rupert Grint as the bookmakers' favourite with 6-4 odds that he will be the next detective to arrive in St Marie.
Meanwhile, Pete Davison, who recently starred in the comedy-drama’s spin-off Beyond Paradise, volunteered to take on the role, telling HELLO!: “I'd certainly consider it... but I suspect he'll be a lot younger than me. I am getting rather fond of living my little life in southwest London, so I'm not sure how I would take to being away for four or five months during hurricane season in the Caribbean.”