Death in Paradise fans celebrate as filming starts on season 13

And boy, does the sun certainly feel like it's shining with the happy news, as fans have flocked to Twitter to express their excitement.

One fan said that the news was "Happy days", while another stated: "That’s the best news I’ve heard in ages. Been watching it all weekend. Can't wait".

The idyllic Caribbean-set police drama always boasts some stellar guest stars throughout its seasons, with the likes of Peep Show's Robert Webb, Happy Valley's Amit Shah and Silent Witness's Genesis Lynea being just a few who starred in the most recent 12th season.

One fan tweeted their excitement for the series and the cast, saying: "Yes happy days can’t wait to see who you have as guest stars in the upcoming episodes."

Read more:

• Call the Midwife shares behind-the-scenes pics as season 13 begins filming
• Simpsons meets Star Wars in Rogue Not Quite One short for May 4th

With general tweets ranging from "Excellent" to "Let's go!", another fan shared in the excitement but also hoped for a more easygoing storyline for Neville in the upcoming season. They tweeted: "Fantastic news, love your cast and your entire crew are fantastic too, hoping in the next season that Neville gets some genuine happiness on the romance front."

Of course, the last season most certainly wasn't the easiest for dear DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little), who was not only arrested for the murder of a suspect but also found out that his love interest Sophie Chambers (Chelsea Edge) was the killer. Their romance was a sham and just a drawn out plan dating back to Neville's past detective work in the UK.

Things got so bad for Nev that he even considered leaving Saint Marie for good, but he chose to remain with the help of his caring support system and friends on the island. Actor Little chatted about the hard-hitting storyline to RadioTimes.com, saying: "I was really impressed with the ambition of the storyline.

"After the 10-year mark, shows can rest on their laurels a bit or even run out of ideas. And actually, I think this series just keeps getting better and better and more and more ambitious."

For now, we can anticipate that he'll be back for season 13 at least, but the long-running BBC series has been renewed for seasons 13 and 14, plus two feature-length Christmas specials.

Speaking about the series renewal at the time in February, executive producer Tim Key said: "The response to series 12 has been incredible, so we're delighted that we'll be heading back to Guadeloupe for at least two more series.

We've got an amazing and joyful Christmas special in store, and then series 13 begins with our 100^th episode, so we've got plenty of surprises ready to celebrate that milestone."

Death in Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.