Death in Paradise is back on BBC One with Don Gilet stepping into the role of DI Mervin Wilson. As he was boarding an aircraft to take him away from Saint Marie, he received a call from his superior ordering him to stay and solve a murder.
Since his arrival, fans have been wondering what happened to Mervin’s predecessors, including Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker. He first joined the series in season nine and finally left in season 13.
When he first arrived on the island, he disliked the environment and had severe allergies. He only came to Saint Marie as a British detective was needed to sign off on a case.
However, he decided to stay on the island and eventually warmed to the way of life. He eventually left to travel the world and explore new opportunities with love interest Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert).
Here is why the actor left the series and why viewers are so divided over his exit.
Neville and Florence explored their relationship (Image: BBC)
Ralf Little opened up to Breakfast about his decision to leave the series, revealing it was always the plan to exit when he did.
He said: “You know, this last series was always going to be my last series. I spoke to the 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.” On social media, he said he was so grateful for everyone’s support.
He added: “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.”
He explained how he was now heading off for “new challenges and adventures”. With this in mind, he left to explore new opportunities.
Don’t miss… [DISCUSSION]
Neville had never planned to stay on the island long (Image: BBC)
Ahead of his exit, fans took to to discuss his impending departure with and_yet_another_user saying: “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 then corrected their choice of language, clarifying: “I meant his annoying idiosyncrasies rather than being an idiot.”
However, this still sparked backlash from fans with Nalkarj 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.”
Ged_UK had claimed: “I don’t think he’s an idiot at all.”
A lot of viewers sympathised with the fact the lead detectives often leave after a few seasons, with in_the_play sharing: “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.”
Death in Paradise airs on One on Fridays at 9pm