Death in Paradise's Neville finally gets lucky in love – but there's a catch
"Is that going to be a problem?"
Death in Paradise's Florence Cassell is well and truly yesterday's news following the season 12 premiere.
In the Christmas special, we were introduced to Sophie, who was holidaying solo on Saint Marie. After an awkward initial encounter with Neville, in which he bashed into her with a suitcase, almost crashed into her taxi and accidentally swapped their luggage, the pair wound up enjoying Christmas dinner together and clearly enjoyed one another's company.
But despite promising early signs, there was no guarantee that it would develop into anything more. This is Neville we're talking about, after all. His success rate solving grisly crimes does not extend to his love life, however hard he tries.
But in tonight's episode (Friday 6th January), he had plenty to smile about.
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While sharing a drink with his colleagues at the local bar, he asked Catherine if she'd heard from Sophie. The pair exchanged messages over the festive period, but their interaction was limited.
Catherine explained that her guest was currently island hopping, but would be back tomorrow – and Sophie had also asked when Neville would be returning from the UK, which put a spring in his step, much to Catherine's amusement.
Later that episode, the pair arranged to share a bottle of wine on Neville's porch overlooking the sea. Once again, sparks flew as the pair bonded over their shared geekery.
"You are at least as big a nerd as I am," laughed Neville. "At least!"
And a few moments later, they shared a passionate kiss.
But there's a complication...
Sophie is only in Saint Marie for ten days. After that, she's packing up and heading back to her life in Manchester.
"Is that going to be a problem?" she asked.
Neville took a moment.
"We're both intelligent human beings who know what they're doing," he replied. "If you don't see a problem, and I don't see a problem, then..."
And with that, the holiday romance was born. But will they be ready to part ways when it's time for Sophie to leave?
Perhaps she'll decide to stay or, in a much bigger development, Neville might follow her to the UK. They're both from Manchester, which would certainly make the decision easier.
Is Ralf Little set to leave Death in Paradise? Watch this space...
Death in Paradise continues on Friday at 9pm on BBC One. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
