Is Death in Paradise’s Neville leaving the island?

By Abby Robinson

Published: Friday, 13 January 2023 at 12:00 am

After Florence Cassell “burned” Neville Parker in Death in Paradise season 11, as he described it in tonight’s episode (January 13th), the detective probably thought he was doomed when it came to matters of the heart.

But that changed when Sophie Chambers entered the picture in the Christmas special.

After a rocky start, they quickly grew close, their chemistry palpable, and in last week’s episode they shared a kiss during a date on Neville’s veranda.

But there was a catch.

Unlike Neville, Sophie doesn’t live on the island. She’s on holiday for ten days, after which she’d head home to Manchester.

“Is that going to be a problem?” she asked.

After a brief pause, he said: “We’re both intelligent human beings who know what they’re doing. If you don’t see a problem, and I don’t see a problem, then…”

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Sophie Chambers (CHELSEA EDGE). Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon
Red Planet Pictures, BBC

The duo crammed as much as possible into their remaining time together, visiting the zoo, chowing down on Creole food and taking to the high seas on jet skis (the less said about that, the better).

But eventually, it was time for Neville and Sophie to say goodbye. As much as it pained them, her life is back in the UK, and Neville is needed in the Caribbean. They embraced one final time and with that, she was gone, with Neville flying solo once again.

But this story is far from over…

In a teaser for next week’s episode, we learn that Neville is desperately pining for Sophie.

“You’re missing Sophie,” says Catherine to the dejected detective. In another scene, he’s standing on the veranda gazing wistfully at a photo of the pair on his phone.

Despite his claim that a fleeting romance wouldn’t be a problem for him, Neville hasn’t been able to move on as he hoped.

Will he change his mind about a long distance relationship? And if they do give it a go, will that eventually result in Neville uprooting his life in Saint Marie to move back to Manchester for Sophie?

But that wasn’t the only hint Neville could be on his way out. Is the show teeing up a grisly exit?

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Justin West (ROBERT WEBB). Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon

As Neville is waving off Sophie, doomsday prepper Justin West (Robert Webb) is watching him from afar – and he doesn’t look happy, a sinister expression splashed across his face as he swigs from a bottle of liquor.

When Neville informed Justin that his wife Raya had been charged with manslaughter over the death of Kit Martin, he broke down, sinking to the ground in a flood of tears. With his partner staring down the barrel of a long stretch behind bars and the commune now in tatters, his emotional state is fragile.