Death in Paradise's Ralf Little exit explained as fans divided over departure

BBC One's Death in Paradise has welcomed Don Gilet as DI Mervin Wilson. Just as he was about to board a plane leaving Saint Marie, his superior called him back to solve a murder case. Since his debut, viewers have been curious about what happened to Mervin's predecessors, including Ralf Little's DI Neville Parker. He first appeared in the ninth season and made his exit in the thirteenth. Initially, Neville was not fond of the island due to severe allergies and was only there because a British detective was required to sign off on a case. However, he chose to stay and gradually adapted to the island lifestyle.

He eventually left to travel the globe and pursue new adventures with his love interest, Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert). Here's why the actor decided to leave the show and why fans are split over his departure. Ralf Little shared his reasons for departing the show with BBC Breakfast, making it clear that his exit was always on the cards. He revealed: "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.". He took to social media to extend his gratitude for the support. He further stated: "I had no idea if viewers would take to my interpretation of Neville's character and indeed to me, so it was quite a relief the response has been overwhelming.".

New horizons await Little as he prepares to take on "new challenges and adventures", marking a natural progression in his career. As he prepares to leave the series, fans on Reddit have been voicing their opinions on his character's development, with one user and_yet_another_user commenting: "If they persist with him being such an idiot in his character, his departure can't come soon enough for me, which kind of p***** me off because I really like Little and was looking forward to him joining the cast.".

The user later amended their comment, explaining: "I meant his annoying idiosyncrasies rather than being an idiot.". Nonetheless, this opinion didn’t sit well with all fans. Nalkarj countered by saying: "I think the character’s been pretty great so far. And I think Little’s acting is the best the show has seen since Miller left.". Meanwhile, Ged_UK defended: "I don't think he's an idiot at all.". Other viewers expressed understanding about the high turnover of lead detectives, with in_the_play noting: "Without family it is still tough. And it is a very long commitment. Most actors want to do a variety of different projects, I imagine this programme leaves very little time to do much else.".