Death In Paradise star Ralf Little has hinted that there could be love in the air for his character, DI Neville Parker, in the Death In Paradise Christmas special 2022.
Things haven't gone too smoothly for the detective in the romance department since he first arrived in Saint Marie in 2020. He held a torch for his colleague DS Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert) for a long time, and attempted to tell her how he felt in last year's Christmas special, but — after several false starts — she admitted she didn't feel the same way about him, and after a brief period of awkwardness, the two of them agreed to just be friends.
Since then, Neville has been attempting to move on from his crush and even joined a dating app in the final episode of series 11 in the hope of meeting that special someone. But in this year's Christmas special, Neville has an unexpected encounter in that most romantic of places — an airport car park — with holidaymaker Sophie (Chelsea Edge), and despite a characteristically awkward start when Neville accidentally heads home with her suitcase, it seems like the unlucky-in-love detective might finally be turning things around...
"Love is possibly in the air for Neville, but it's complicated!" Ralf tells What To Watch. "There's a character, Sophie, played by Chelsea Edge who is absolutely brilliant. She arrives on the island like a bombshell, and Neville is immediately smitten."
When Sophie comes to the police station to collect her belongings, it seems there's a spark between the pair — but will nervous Neville be able to overcome his anxiety and ask Sophie out on a proper date?
"He still misses Florence terribly, and that complicates things," says Ralf. "I was going to say 'the ghost of Florence looms large', but that sounds like I've done a spoiler — Florence is alive and well! But it is complicated, so it's not all smooth sailing for Neville. But Chelsea is fantastic, and I hope we have good chemistry on screen. She's brilliant and funny, and there's a lot to look forward to there."
- The Death In Paradise Christmas special airs on Monday December 26 on BBC1 at 9pm in the UK
