Former Death In Paradise star Ralf Little fought back tears while recounting his sister’s death – saying his parents’ lives ‘crumbled right in front of their eyes.’
The latest episode of Will and Ralf Should Know Better featured Ralf, 46, and co-star Will Mellor, 49, confronting their biggest fears.
The pair headed to Scotland, where each had signed up the other for daunting experiences – including tackling stand-up comedy performances.
Will told Ralf: ‘I think I’ve actually done something that you would find more frightening than any of that. What I’ve done that I think you’d find more frightening… is have a child.
‘Yes, yes, actually commit to something, commitment. I have had two kids and brought them up.
‘So, to give you a little taste, I’m taking you to a place, it’s like a charity set-up, where dads can go and learn how to be good parents.
Ralf Little fought back tears as he recounted the tragic death of his sister – who passed away at just 14 years old
In tackling fear, Will and Ralf each signed each other up for experiences that the other would find daunting
‘What to expect from a baby, how to be a parent’ as Ralf admitted: ‘This my living nightmare!
During his time at the charity event, Ralf received a baby doll to care for – as the actor considered why he had not had children.
Back in the car later on, Ralf admitted how it had been a ‘funny old day’ for him, which Will acknowledged he’d noticed.
Will told him: ‘I can see it threw some questions into your mind that you weren’t expecting.
‘I could tell from your reaction that you were a bit like maybe there is a reason a bit deeper why I haven’t had children.’
Opening up, Ralf answered: ‘For sure. My parents were fantastic with us and did the best that they could.
‘But their relationship broke down really in a really difficult way and that was very difficult for us.
‘You know, there’s no way of putting this that’s not blunt, but, you know, they had three kids and an idyllic family life and then one of the kids was alive one week and dead the next.
‘Everything, their entire lives crumbled right in front of their eyes from that moment on. It’s like, you know, you can’t protect them.’
Fighting back tears, Ralf continued: ‘My mum was really… my mum was really protective of us. Really protective.
‘And it happened anyway. It happened anyway because you can’t wrap your kids in cotton wool and protect them 24-7.
‘Like, it’s a lot. And it’s only when I’m forced to sort of say these things out loud that I realise quite what a lot it is.’
When Ralf was nine years old, his sister, Ceri, then aged 14, plunged 150ft to her death from a cliff during a family holiday in Cornwall.
Speaking previously to Reverend Richard Coles on BBC Radio 4, the actor said: ‘It was devastating.
‘It’s incredibly difficult to recover from something like that, particularly as parents.
‘Out of everyone in the family I was the one that was affected least because I was nine years old. Kids are quite resilient anyway, but I just had stuff to get on with, all these activities.
From 2020 to 2024, Ralf played DI Neville Parker on the popular BBC light-hearted crime drama Death In Paradise
‘It could have gone either way. I could have gone to school and just had this massive meltdown, rebelling, and being angry. I know now I was absolutely filled with rage.
‘But I channelled that rage into getting all of life and giving it a kicking. So, my grades went up. My achieving excellence at school just like, I was on every team; I was winning prizes.’
Ralf went on to claim that although he hadn’t been terribly close with Ceri, his other sister Rowena had been – and took the loss incredibly personally.
He said: ‘I came out fighting. Ceri was a real tour de force of a personality. She and I didn’t really get on that well but that’s because I was a snotty younger brother.
‘Rowena, my middle sister, was very much Ceri’s shadow. She used to follow her around and do what she was told because she was the older sister and she loved her. I think she was quite lost for a few years.
‘She just kind of had no guidance, really. She had no one to follow. Suddenly, she’s got to be the oldest and just go, ‘where do I fit in the world?’
‘So, I think she struggled a lot more than I did. My parents struggled about 10 years and split up about 10 years later.
‘But I won’t blame them for that. Grief is such a difficult thing. People process it differently.’
Will and Ralf Should Know Better is available to watch on Channel 4 and 4oD, as well as U.
