Death in Paradise star Ralf Little's replacement revealed as iconic ...

Former EastEnders baddie Don Gilet has become the fifth actor to land the lead role in BBC1 hit drama Death in Paradise, taking over from Ralf Little.

The actor is best known as Albert Square killer Lucas Johnson, but has also had roles in Holby City, The Loch, Sherwood and Doctor Who - and even had a guest part in Death in Paradise back in 2015.

Yesterday it was revealed he will make his debut in this year’s Christmas special of the Caribbean crime caper as Detective Inspector Mervin WiIson - who arrives on the island of Saint Marie from London, and isn’t overly pleased with his new surroundings.

But in real life Don, 57, couldn’t be more delighted to have landed the plum role - which he has already started filming in Guadeloupe alongside returning regulars Don Warrington, Shantol Jackson, Ginny Holder, Élizabeth Bourgine and Danny John-Jules.

The dad-of-one laughed: “Being offered the new lead role inDeath in Paradisefeels like a deeply loved and incredibly precious jewel has been placed in my hands. This is a big show, with a big heart and the love continually grows for it. It is my intention to never lose sight of that and to remain grateful, humbled and dedicated.

“Even during those testing times when every sinew is screaming at me to run off the set and dive into the sea, swimming pool or an ice-cold beer – whichever happens to be closer at the time.”

The show’s executive producer, Tim Key, said he was thrilled to welcome him to the series, which launched in 2011 and still gets an audience of 8million. “Don is an amazing actor and we’re delighted that he’s joining us as the show enters another exciting new era,” he said. “We’ve got huge plans for the new series and beyond, and I can’t wait for the audience to meet Mervin and to see what we’ve got in store.”

In EastEnders, Gilet’s character Lucas is the ex partner of Denise Fox (Diane Parish), and father of her daughter Chelsea, who was revealed to be a serial killer back in 2010. In the storyline, he is currently servicing a life sentence in jail.

The Mirror exclusively revealed in March that Little had quit as DI Neville Parker, after five years in the role. The Royle Family favourite had followed on from Ben Miller, Kris Marshall and Ardal O’Hanlon and was the longest-lasting actor in the lead role.

Announcing his decision to go a few days later, Little said: “For the show and for my character Neville it just sort of felt like his story was finished and his journey deserved to be completed. He deserved a happy ending and it just felt right.”

Don's appointment might come as a surprise for some Death in Paradise fans who were convinced star Ben Miller recently revealed Ralf's replacement. Last month, Ben - who played DI Richard Poole - opened up about his thoughts on who might replace Ralf, who stepped down from the BBC show on which he had played Neville Parker for a number of years.

As fans eagerly waited to find out who will be replacing Ralf as the lead detective, a number of names were thrown into the ring, with viewers convinced it could be a returning detective or someone else linked to the show.

Asked who he'd like to see in the role, Ben revealed he was backing Mr Bates vs The Post Office star Toby Jones. He said: "Oh my God, there are so many people who’d be brilliant. Toby Jones, that’s who I’d like to see."

However, he also shared his opinion that it could be a woman who takes over the role. He added to Radio Times: "Yeah, that could definitely work. I could see that, 100%. I think that'd be good too. If we’re playing fantasy detectives, Miranda Hart."

After he departed the role, Ralf admitted that he didn't really want to leave, but was glad his character got a happy ending. In the end, Neville and his long-time crush Florence Cassell sailed off into the sunset to go travelling together.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he explained: "This last series was always going to be my last series, I had talks with the BBC, and with Red Planet, the production company and we all agreed that it just felt...

"If it was in my heart, like if it was just a heart decision, I'd have wanted to do it for 20 more years. But just for the show, and... for my character Neville, it just sort of felt like his story... it deserved to be sort of finished and his sort of journey... sort of deserved to be completed and he deserved a nice happy ending and so it just felt right."

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