Death In Paradise star Ralf Little breaks his silence after his character Neville Parker’s exit from the BBC show in final emotional episode

Death In Paradise star Ralf Little has broken his silence on his departure from the BBC show.

His character DI Neville Parker said goodbye to the island of Saint Marie in Sunday night’s episode, leaving viewers in tears.

The BBC confirmed that Ralf had left the show after the finale aired, with Red Planet Pictures executive producer Tim Key paying tribute to the leading man.

And in a video posted to his Instagram after the show, Ralf posted a lengthy message to his fans saying it was an “absolute privilege” to play Marcel.

He said, ‘So there you have it! The secret is out! My time on Saint Marie has come to an end. But what an ending!

‘New adventures await Marcel and he got to sail into the sunset with his best friend, and you know, who knows what will happen to them next! I just want to say, thank you so much to everyone who watched and supported the show.

‘When I arrived here, four and a half years ago, I knew I had big shoes to fill. It was a huge responsibility to take part in a series that was loved by millions of people, including myself.

‘I had no idea whether viewers would accept my interpretation of Neville’s character, or me, so it was a relief that the response was overwhelming.

“It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure to bring Neville Parker to all of you and share his truly profound journey with you. I can’t thank you all enough for your support over the last four and a half years, as Neville heads off to new challenges and adventures and I head off to new challenges and adventures.”

He continued: “When I look back on the time I spent on Death In Paradise, the way everyone took Marcel into their hearts, it was truly one of the most magical and profound experiences of my entire life. If it weren’t for all of you, I never would have had to do it. So thank you very much!

‘What now with the show? Well, I couldn’t even tell you if I knew, but I don’t! Don’t know! But what I do know is that the team that makes it, the producers, the writers, directors, the entire crew, the guest cast and of course my absolutely amazing co-stars.

‘They know what they are doing and the future is in good hands! So I’m going to watch series 14 with you with the same enthusiasm as all of you. I can’t wait to see what happens next!’

The video which was also shared by the official Death In Paradise Instagram account was captioned: ‘What can we say? @ralf.little, thank you so much for bringing Marcel to life for us, we loved watching every minute of it. #DeathInParadise.’

Ralf’s final episode aired on Sunday night, leaving viewers in tears as his exit storyline was finally revealed.

After fears that his character was planning to leave the island of Saint Marie solo, the final scenes of series 13 saw him rushing to be with fan favorite DS Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert) after their ‘will they, will they’ storyline reached its emotional conclusion. .

After intervention from his friends and colleagues, Marcel rushed to the port to tell Florence how he felt, leaving viewers in tears as he declared: “If the unknown is all you have to offer, then that’s good enough for me. All I want is for us to be together,’

In the final scene, the two sailed into the sunset together.

In the opening of the episode, Marcel was on a plane to Dominica when he spoke to a man who later ended up dead on a beach with a gunshot wound to his chest, causing him to return. to Saint Marie to investigate the death.

However, his happy ending with Florence did not seem certain with his return to the island, as he told her that he still wanted to leave the island alone.

Fortunately, Marcel’s colleagues made an intervention, causing the protagonist to finally act on his feelings for Florence.

Viewers decided it was the perfect ending for the two characters, with one tweeting: “Sobbing Neville and Florence sailing into the sun together was the perfect ending for them both.”

‘#DeathInParadise finally managed to get a couple together! It only lasted about 14 years!’ another agreed.

‘OMG. I can not believe it. They’re going on a trip together,” another shouted, but someone else wanted to know if it was just a short break for the couple: “It’s just a short break around the islands, right? They’ll be back, right? #DeathInParadise’

The BBC confirmed that Ralf has left the show after the finale aired, with Red Planet Pictures executive producer Tim Key paying tribute to the lead actor

“It’s an intimidating and risky prospect to take part as the lead in a successful show like Death in Paradise, but Ralf’s confidence and talent shone through from day one and the audience’s response to Neville and his journey was fantastic,” he said.

“I can’t thank Ralf enough for everything he has brought to the show, both on and off screen, and I wish him all the best for the future.”

Ralf was the longest-lasting leading man, following in the footsteps of Ben Miller, Kris Marshall and Ardal O’Hanlon who all played the iconic role, with producers now looking for his replacement.

A 14th season has already been commissioned and a Christmas special is planned, with filming set to take place in the coming months.

Ralf, 44, previously described playing the lead role in the show as a “dream role”, highlighting the quality of the show and dismissing the idea that it was a “guilty pleasure”.

In 2021, he said, “I’m still trying to gently move the story away from that sentence. What can you be guilty of? It’s a high quality show, with a complex murder with new characters and a mystery to solve and they do it all in an hour.

‘And it looks beautiful – murder has never been so much fun. It’s an incredible achievement. I’m very proud of that.’

The series, set on the island of Saint Marie, was the BBC’s third biggest drama in Britain in 2023, just behind Happy Valley and Doctor Who.

The drama enjoyed enormous worldwide success, reaching more than 240 territories. The 100th episode will air this season.

Ever since it was announced that Ralf would be leaving the show after four years as Saint Marie’s lead detective, rumors have swirled about who will replace him.

A string of stars have been tipped as next in line, including bookmakers’ favorite Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners.

The odds of Betfred 39-year-old Simon taking on the role are 5/4, with a probability of 44 percent.

Meanwhile, the second most likely star to make an appearance is Diane Morgan, who is best known for her iconic character Philomena Cunk.