Death in Paradise fans have revealed who they want to see take on the lead detective role following Ralf Little’s surprise exit.
The 44-year-old actor left the show at the end of series 13, as his character, DI Neville Parker, said goodbye to St. Mary’s Island.
After the finale aired last month, Ralf shared on Instagram: “The secret is out! My stay at Sainte Marie is coming to an end. But what an ending!
He has been the most enduring protagonist and followed 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 ordered and a Christmas special planned with filming in the coming months.
Death in Paradise fans have revealed who they want to see take on the lead detective role following Ralf Little’s surprise exit.
He has been the longest-lasting lead role and followed in the footsteps of Ben Miller, Kris Marshall and Ardal O’Hanlon who all starred in the iconic role, with producers now looking for his replacement.
And ever since it was revealed that Roy had left after four years, rumors have been swirling around who will replace him.
Speaking about who might take his place, Ralf admitted: “I honestly have no idea and they haven’t told me, maybe they didn’t have a clue yet.
“But I like the rest of you to sit around and ask, ‘Who’s next?’ Who knows? No idea. But we’ll see what happens.
Bookmakers have so far bet on six favorites, made up of men and women from different backgrounds.
MailOnline gave its readers the chance to vote on who they wanted to take the job from these six, with more than a third backing Simon Bird, with 36 per cent of the vote.
The actor, 39, is also the bookies’ favorite to take on the role, with Betfred odds of 5/4 giving him a 44% chance of being nominated.
Simon made his breakthrough in the multi-award winning comedy series The Inbetweeners and was nominated for a BAFTA for playing the geeky but affable Will McKenzie.
He then starred in another successful comedy series, playing Adam Goodman in Friday Night Dinner.
MailOnline gave its readers the chance to vote on who they wanted to take the job from these six, with more than a third backing Simon Bird, with 36 per cent of the vote (pictured last year).
He has also worked behind the camera and last year directed the A24 series Such Brave Girls for the BBC, described by The Guardian as “easily the funniest British comedy of the year”.
Mathew Horne, who garnered 27 percent of the vote, closely follows Simon as the second most popular choice for Death in Paradise.
Like Simon, the 45-year-old actor is famous for starring in beloved comedy series, playing Gavin in the double BAFTA-winning series Gavin & Stacey.
At odds of 5/1, Mathew has also worked his way into second place in the betting, with a 16.7 percent chance of being nominated.
He began his career as part of the comedy duo Mat and MacKinnon and after being spotted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by Catherine Tate, he landed a role in her sketch show as Jamie, Nan’s grandson.
Mathew continued to work with Gavin & Stacey co-creator James Corden on Horne & Corden as well as 2009’s Lesbian Vampire Killers.
He then starred in the film Bad Education with Jack Whitehall and Catherine Tate’s The Nan Movie in 2020, based on the popular character from her BBC Two sketch show.
Next in line for the detective position is Diane Morgan, with 13% of voters opting for her to be the first woman to lead the investigation.
Mathew Horne, who received 27% of the vote (2018 photo), closely follows Simon as the second most popular choice for Death in Paradise.
Next in line for the detective position is Diane Morgan, with 13% of voters opting for her to be the first female lead (2022 photo).
At odds of 7/1, bookmakers also gave the 48-year-old actor a 12.5% chance of being nominated for the role.
Diane is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Philomena Cunk, a dim-witted interviewer and commentator, who first appeared in a regular segment on Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe show.
She has since revived the character in a series of mockumentaries.
Diane also built a fanbase playing Kath in Ricky Gervais’ dark comedy series After Life, and also played Liz in the BBC Two sitcom Motherland.
Another popular actress who could replace Ralf is Jodie Whittaker, who received nine percent of the vote, with odds of 8/1 and probability of 11.1 percent.
It wouldn’t be the first time the 41-year-old actress paved the way for a female lead in a male-dominated series, as she played the Thirteenth Doctor in Doctor Who – the first woman to play the title role.
Jodie scplayed her first major role in the debut feature film Venus in 2006, for which she received British Independent Film Award and Satellite Award nominations.
Her performance in the cult 2011 sci-fi film also saw her receive critical acclaim and her appearance in the same year’s Black Mirror episode The Whole History of You.
Another popular actress who could replace Ralf is Jodie Whittaker, who received nine percent of the vote, with odds of 8/1 and probability of 11.1 percent (November photo).
Hot on Jodie’s heels is Jaye Griffiths, who got eight percent of the vote and has the advantage of already being familiar with the setting of Death In Paradise, having played DI Karen Flitcroft in last year’s series ( photo from 2017).
In 2013, she became a household name when she starred in the British crime drama Broadchurch as Beth Latimer, the mother of murder victim Danny.
And Jodie will next be seen in Netflix’s Toxic Town, an upcoming British drama series that follows the story of three mothers involved in the Corby toxic waste scandal.
Hot on Jodie’s heels is Jaye Griffiths, who bagged eight per cent of the vote and has the advantage of already knowing the setting of Death In Paradise, having played DI Karen Flitcroft in last year’s series.
At 60 years old, Jaye is the oldest candidate for this role and has odds of 10/1 and probability of 9.1 percent.
She first rose to prominence as Ros Henderson in the BBC series Bugs, which ran for four series.
Jaye then starred as Sally Johnson on The Bill from 1993 to 1995 before making several guest appearances in 2003.
She also starred as consultant Elle Gardner in Casualty from 2016 to 2019, and is often found in crime or hospital dramas, appearing in Doctors, Always and Everyone, Instinct and Silent Witness.
While being further away from left field choice for this role, Romesh Ranganathan still managed to get seven percent of the vote to replace Ralf.
While being further out of left field for the role, Romesh Ranganathan still managed to get seven percent of the vote to replace Ralf (pictured in December).
The comedian, 45, did slightly better among bookmakers with odds of 8/1 and odds of 11.1 percent.
Romesh has become one of the BBC’s biggest stars in recent years after rising to prominence through appearances on comedy shows.
In 2018, he landed his own travel series, The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, later winning a TV BAFTA for the show, and teamed up with fellow comedian Rob Beckett for Rob & Romesh Vs.
He also hosted the revival of The Weakest Link since 2021, replacing Anne Robinson, and the following year he co-wrote and starred in the comedy drama series Avoidance, the second season of which is scheduled to air later this year.
