Of course, it\u2019s not the first time the show has waved goodbye to its British-copper-in-residence.<\/p>\n
The original detective inspector on the island was Richard Poole (Ben Miller), who solved murders for two seasons before being murdered himself at the start of season 3. He was replaced by fan favourite Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), who departed in season 6 to live in London with his girlfriend Martha (and to later move to the Devon coast in spin-off Beyond Paradise<\/a>).<\/p>\n Jack Mooney (Ardal O\u2019Hanlon) then arrived on the scene, before eventually making way for Neville in season 9.<\/p>\n Now, 38 episodes and five years after he first stepped foot onto the sandy beaches of Saint Marie<\/a> (or more precisely Guadeloupe<\/a>, where Death In Paradise is filmed), Neville has departed.<\/p>\n As soon as Little confirmed that Neville isn\u2019t coming back<\/a> \u2013 the ending of the episode saw him sail away with Florence, but it could have feasibly been for a holiday rather than a permanent departure \u2013 speculation began as to who could head to the Caribbean and join Shantol Jackson, Don Warrington, Ginny Holder<\/a> and Danny John-Jules, who recently returned<\/a> to the show.<\/p>\n It\u2019s likely Little\u2019s replacement will be confirmed pretty soon because Death in Paradise usually films during the summer months, as executive producer Tim Key explained in an interview with Radio Times<\/a> to celebrate the 100th episode earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe start filming in April, and then we go right the way through until the end of October,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big commitment. Some of the crew, they are out in Guadeloupe from March to November, and it\u2019s a very, very long time for them to be away. And the lead actors, they can\u2019t be doing other auditions, they can\u2019t be doing other work, and by the time you get back home, it\u2019s nearly Christmas when the industry is kind of closing down a bit. So it\u2019s a big ask.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it needs a very kind of specific person and personality to be able to commit to it and enjoy it, and exploit it to its maximum.\u201d<\/p>\n While we await the big announcement, let\u2019s take a look at some of the actors who have been rumoured as possible replacements for Ralf Little in season 14<\/a>.<\/p>\n Best known for his roles as Will in The Inbetweeners and Adam in Friday Night Dinner, comic actor Bird is currently the bookies\u2019 favourite to join the Death ion Paradise team (even his Wikipedia page hints he\u2019s been cast).<\/p>\n The 39-year-old would be the youngest actor to take on the role to date \u2013 Little was 40 when he was cast \u2013 but the big question is whether a move to the Caribbean would be feasible for Bird, as a husband and father of two?<\/p>\n Channel 4 sitcom Everyone Else Burns, in which he stars, has also been renewed for a second season, and he has also won acclaim as the director of movie Days Of Bagnold Summer and 2023\u2019s Such Brave Girls for the BBC \u2013 will he be happy to put that aspect of his career on hold for DIP?<\/p>\n Can we see Simon Bird solving crime in Saint Marie?<\/strong><\/p>\n He certainly ticks all the same boxes as previous leads \u2013 skilled at comic acting as well as drama, being recognisable without being too linked to any previous roles \u2013 so it\u2019s no surprise he is the popular, if somewhat predictable, choice as he would fit right in as the awkward Englishman on the island.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not written in stone that the British detective in Saint Marie has to be a man, and the actress hotly tipped to be the first woman to take on the role is actress-comedian-writer Diane Morgan \u2013 known to millions of fans as dim-witted interviewer Philomena Cunk.<\/p>\n Morgan, 48, has also won praise for her roles as Kath in the Ricky Gervais series After Life and as Liz in BBC comedy Motherland, as well as for the series Mandy (the third season of which airs on the BBC this week), which she also writes and directs.<\/p>\n Can we see Diane Morgan solving crime in Saint Marie?<\/strong><\/p>\n Morgan is one of our favourite comic actresses, but could she be too snarky and sarcastic for the residents of Saint Marie? We can\u2019t help but wonder whether it would be hard to get used to her intelligently questioning criminals when we are so used to her playing our beloved but useless interrogator Philomena\u2026<\/p>\n Another comic actor whose name is in the mix is Mathew Horne, star of the hugely successful Gavin & Stacey and Bad Education.<\/p>\n While there have been rumours that the beloved 2007-2010 sitcom would return for another Christmas special this year, which could rule Horne out of the running for DIP, nothing has been confirmed, with writer and co-star Ruth Jones telling RTE Radio 1 in February that it was \u201csadly a rumour\u201d and that \u201cif there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it\u201d.<\/p>\n Can we see Mathew Horne solving crime in Saint Marie?<\/strong><\/p>\n While Horne has appeared in numerous shows, if you\u2019re of a certain age he will always be Gavin in your heart. And Gavin isn\u2019t quite who we imagine solving murders \u2013 unless, of course, he brought along his smarter half, Stacey (Joanna Page).<\/p>\n Given the recent streaming success of 1980s cop\/romantic series Dempsey & Makepeace, maybe now is the time for Gavin & Stacey to leave Barry behind and take their romance to the Caribbean.<\/p>\n Jaye Griffiths, 60, has already appeared in one episode of Death in Paradise as DI Karen Flitcroft<\/a>, who popped up in season 12\u2019s Sins of the Detective, Part 2 to investigate Neville\u2019s involvement in the murder of criminologist David Cartwright.<\/p>\n It would certainly be an interesting twist to change the \u2018British policeman moves to the island\u2019 formula of the show and instead promote a returning character, and Griffiths\u2019 performance has already made her a fan favourite.<\/p>\n If she looks familiar beyond her appearance in the crime drama, Jaye has also starred as Elle Gardner in Casualty, Sally Johnson in The Bill and Professor Janet Mander in Silent Witness.<\/p>\n Can we see Jaye Griffiths solving crime in Saint Marie?<\/strong><\/p>\n Griffiths already knows the lay of the land thanks to her season 12 appearance, so she\u2019d easily slot back in to the Saint Marie police force \u2013 and we can just see her sparring with Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, too.<\/p>\n Jodie Whittaker, 41, has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Little, and she\u2019s certainly no stranger to committing to a long-running series, having played the lead in Doctor Who<\/a> for five years.<\/p>\n The Yorkshire-born actress has also won acclaim for her roles in Broadchurch, Black Mirror, Trust Me and more recently, the prison-set series Time, and will next be seen in the Netflix series Toxic Town that filmed at the end of 2023.<\/p>\n Can we see Jodie Whittaker solving crime in Saint Marie?<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re sure that a no-nonsense police woman from Whittaker\u2019s native Yorkshire would know how to deal with Selwyn and Dwayne, while the more loveable, Doctor Who side of Whittaker would become best friends with Naomi and Darlene, making the former Doctor a terrific fit.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible that Romesh Ranganathan\u2019s name has been added to the list of possible replacements simply because he seems to be in just about every other TV show that\u2019s on at the moment, so why not Death in Paradise?<\/p>\n The 45-year-old comedian, presenter and actor from Crawley is host of The Weakest Link, co-host of the BAFTA TV Awards (with Rob Beckett), star of The Misinvestigations of Romesh Ranganathan (season 2 coming soon) and<\/em> The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, co-creator, co-writer and star of BBC comedy drama Avoidance, and a regular guest on shows including Have I Got News For You and A League Of Their Own.<\/p>\n He\u2019s probably far too busy to head over to the Caribbean anytime soon, especially as he also presents the Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2, having taken over from Claudia Winkleman, and has an upcoming stage tour, Hustle, which is running from April to June this year.<\/p>\n Can we see Romesh <\/strong>Ranganathan <\/strong>solving crime in Saint Marie?<\/strong><\/p>\n He\u2019s used to asking the questions on The Weakest Link, so he certainly has the interrogation skills, but we think Ranganathan\u2019s TV personality is just too big for Saint Marie \u2013 or, indeed, for the whole of the Caribbean.<\/p> All 13 seasons of Death in Paradise are available to stream now on\u00a0BBC iPlayer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>Check out more of our Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what else is on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n As Ralf Little sails off into the sunset, we look at his possible replacements\u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":48463,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise.jpg",1920,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/who-will-replace-ralf-little-on-death-in-paradise.jpg",1920,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"As Ralf Little sails off into the sunset, we look at his possible replacements\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/48462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ralf](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/468563-a8b6412.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Ralf")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Simon Bird<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2019\/08\/simon-bird-e040465.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"simon-bird\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Diane Morgan<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Diane](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/Diane-Morgan-400f24b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Diane")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Mathew Horne<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"WARNING:](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2019\/12\/19317117-low_res-gavin-and-stacey-23977d5.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"Gavin")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Jaye Griffiths<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Closeup](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/Karen-Flitcroft-Death-in-Paradise-603b289.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Death")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Jodie Whittaker<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Jodie](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/jodie-whittaker-celebrity-bake-off-2-72edb89.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"jodie-whittaker-celebrity-bake-off-2\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Romesh Ranganathan<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Romesh](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/Romesh-Ranganathan-451cd60.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Romesh")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"