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Death in Paradise's Ralf Little reveals similarities between Neville and Hunting Alice Bell character following his exit from BBC drama

"I don’t think Graham would go out and join Neville’s pub team!"

Graham (Ralf Little) being held by police at the Womens' Conference

Channel 4

Published: Friday, 13 November 2026 at 8:00 am

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*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Hunting Alice Bell episode 2.*

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While many fans of Ralf Little's will mostly recognise him for his long-running lead role in BBC's Death in Paradise, the actor takes on a very different kind of role in Channel 4's Hunting Alice Bell.

As revealed in the second episode of the new thriller, there's a lot more than meets the eye to Little's character Graham.

Not only is he the masked social media troll TrueCrimeBuster, but he's also a working police officer, something that shocks Fran (Alexandra Roach) to her core once she finds out who's been terrorising her.

Chatting about the similarities between his Hunting Alice Bell character and Death in Paradise's DI Neville Parker, Ralf joked in an exclusive chat with Radio Times: "They're very similar. It's just the same thing!"

Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker, looking pensive in Death in Paradise

Ralph Little in Death in Paradise. BBC

He went on: "Well, you say fans will recognise me but pleasingly, I'm just behind a mask for the whole of episode one. One of the easiest jobs I've ever done.

"It's weird. I guess the reveal of Graham being a police officer is a really great plot twist and also very interesting in the wider context of the show because human beings are complicated and nuanced. Everybody's flawed, people have good points and bad points. Shining a light on both of them with this mob mentality is something that Emily's character suffers from, Vanessa, and well, all of the the 'I am not Alice Bell' group does.

"Then that's used as a way to try and smear them or gain traction for any particular accusation."

Little continued: "And on the flip side, Graham is supposed to be this member of the police service and is supposed to be there to do what the police service does. Then in his spare time, he's fallen down this rabbit hole of – I don't know, I thought perhaps he was trying to find some way of feeling seen, I think we would say in 2026. Feeling relevant, feeling some sort of power maybe. I got this feeling that maybe he felt powerless in his own personal life, and so that's where that comes from."

But thinking back to Neville, Little said: "In answer to your question, the similarities end pretty much at the fact that they happen to both be policemen. That, as a general idea of him as a character, that's his background was the most interesting bit to me but didn't particularly affect how I how I had to play anything, if that makes any sense.

"It just happened to be a foundational, interesting theme that runs through the entire show that I was able to kind of work with... I don’t think Graham would go out and join Neville’s pub team!"

Ralf Little standing in a dimly lit studio holding up a phone with an image on it.

Ralf Little as Graham in Hunting Alice Bell. Channel 4

Little stars in Hunting Alice Bell alongside Alexandra Roach (Nightsleeper) as Fran, Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) as Julie, Emily Barber (MobLand) as Vanessa, Toni O’Rourke (God’s Creatures) as Ros and Christina Bennington (Halo) as Charlotte.

Also starring are Rudi Dharmalingam (The Lazarus Project) as Nick, and Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible) as Dr Jason Nash.

Little's role in Death in Paradise made him the longest-serving lead detective on the crime drama, with his exit coming as surprise to many viewers – but is one that maybe lays some foundations for a potential cameo in the future.

When asked whether he could see Neville returning to Saint Marie for a cameo of some sort, Little said: "Well, I left not because I didn't want to do the show anymore, but if it was up to me, if it was up to my heart, I would have done the show for for another 20 years, 30, 40. I'd have basically just done it until I couldn't do it anymore.

"But I took a bit of a step back and just thought, 'I don't want to be here to the point where Neville's story has been told'. It felt like his story had been told."

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He went on: "Sticking around longer than that, it felt like if he was a real person in real life, it would be time for him to move on and therefore, it was time for me to move on. So, it was a difficult decision.

"That said, he's now gone away for a couple of years. Who knows what new stories could be told? Get me out to the Caribbean. Who doesn't? Who doesn't want to work six months of the Caribbean?

"It felt like the right decision at the time and to this day, it still feels like it was the right decision for all the right reasons. But of course, I miss it – miss it everyday."

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Hunting Alice Bell premieres on Wednesday 11 November at 9pm on Channel 4.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Morgan Cormack, smiling against a lime green background

Morgan CormackDrama Writer

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.

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