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Death in Paradise confirms Ralf Little's future on the show as DI Parker decides to stay in Saint Marie

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

From Digital Spy

Death in Paradise has confirmed the not-so-secret news that its new star Ralf Little will be sticking around on Saint Marie after all in tonight's (February 27) series 9 finale.

Ralf joined the cast earlier in the series, taking over the spot that had been left vacant by previous star Ardal O'Hanlon after he bowed out of the show, but his character has always made it clear that he would not be staying on the Caribbean island any longer than he had to.

Between his allergies and "unusual hypersensitivity to the sun", DI Neville Parker was never well-suited to life on Saint Marie but he was forced to stay in Honoré after he developed DVT and couldn't fly home.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Related: Death in Paradise's Ralf Little explains why he's 'perfectly suited' to the new DI role

Ahead of tonight's finale, however, the drama show revealed that Neville would be getting the all-clear from his doctor, and he was already planning his leaving party within hours of hearing the news.

But as the episode continued, Neville admitted that he's starting to worry that he isn't embracing life as much as he could do, and later revealed that the thought of going home scared him just as much as the thought of staying.

"Lately I've started to worry that I'm going to wake up when I'm 90 and regret every single second that I just made do with my life," he shared at one point.

He had a murder to solve first, of course, but rather than jump on a plane back to not-so-sunny Manchester at the end of the episode, Neville instead returned to the group as they celebrated JP's results in the Sergeant exam and ask if he could stay on as their new DI permanently.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Related: Death In Paradise star Ralf Little is already preparing for series 10

"I'm fed up of living life the way I have to, instead of the way I want to," he told them. "What I'm saying is I'd love to be your DI permanently, if you'll have me."

Despite some reluctance from Commissioner Selwyn, Neville was officially named the new DI (on a rolling contract), and he went off to pick up all the supplies he'd need to really embrace life on the island.

And viewers were pleased to learn that Neville would be sticking around too:

Death In Paradise airs on BBC One. The complete series is available to pre-order on DVD now.


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