BBC Death in Paradise star reflects on career 'obstacles' after shock departure

Death in Paradise star Ralf Littlehas reflected on career "obstacles" after his shock departure from the show.

The 45-year-old actor famously portrayed Detective Inspector Neville Parker in the BBC series, which follows criminal investigations on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie.

Following five years in the role, Ralf left viewers heartbroken when he confirmed his exit from the programme last year, with EastEnders actor Don Gilet subsequently announced as his successor.

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During an appearance on Saturday Kitchen this weekend (August 16), Ralf discussed a thrilling venture with presenter Matt Tebbutt.

Ralf and Will Mellor, who previously featured in the beloved BBC comedy Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, are preparing to tour the country once more for a nationwide series of performances, reports the Express.

Across 12 shows, the duo will travel throughout the UK as part of their November Nonsense: Two Pints Podcast tour, kicking off on November 1 in Birmingham.

Discussing the hurdles he's encountered whilst developing a podcast, Ralf explained: "The podcast space, as they say, is incredible. There's loads and loads of podcasts.

"It's like a professional wrestling area, everyone's fighting for space, trying to elbow each other out of the way. So, there's a lot of obstacles to do in it."

He continued: "We just went, 'Well, let's just try and see what happens and don't have too much expectation.' And then we were, sort of, incredibly surprised when it turned out that people seemed to be interested in what we had to say."

Elsewhere in the interview, Ralf also spoke out about his departure from Death in Paradise, where he served as the "longest-serving detective".

"I'd done five years and that made me the longest-serving detective on the show," he revealed.

"It felt like my character Neville's story had been told. Me and the producers sat down, and we, kind of, all agreed.

"Maybe we could have done another season, even maybe a couple, but you don't want to keep doing something when it feels like it's come to its natural conclusion."

Ralf concluded: "We felt like his story had finished in a quite rounded, quite beautiful and poignant way, so it felt like the right time to leave."

Death in Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer