Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Ralf Little’s life off-screen – sister’s Dᴇᴀᴛʜ tragedy to famous brother
Ralf Little is probably best known for his portrayal of Anthony in the hit BBC sitcom The Royle Family, but fans may be surprised by the actor's life off-screen
Ralf Little is best known for his role as DI Neville Parker in Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise (Image: BBC / Red Planet Pictures / Denis Guyenon)
Ralf Little is probably best known for his portrayal of Anthony in the hit BBC sitcom The Royle Family and taking on the role of DI Neville Parker in Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise. He has also starred in the comedy sitcom Three Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps alongside Will Mellor and Sheridan Smith.
It’s fair to say the 44-year-old actor has lived such an eventful life, not too dissimilar to the characters he portrays on the small screen. From the breakdown of his engagement, to a surprising career U-turn, Ralf’s private life may raise a few eyebrows. As the actor prepares to star in the upcoming dystopian thriller film The Flaw, let’s take a look inside life away from the cameras.
Before becoming an actor he pursued a career in medicine (Image: BBC)
Career U-turn
Before he became the beloved actor we know him as now, the star’s career very nearly took a different turn, this time in the medical field. Born in Bury, Ralf studied at Bolton School and went on to attend Manchester University.
But just four weeks into his first time, the university agreed he could take a year out to pursue hie TV career after producers tracked him down for a screen test. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News at the time, he revealed: “I was going to be a doctor.
“I might never get this opportunity in acting again. So I’ve got to try, otherwise I’ll wonder for the rest of my life what would have happened.”
The Manchester United fan also showed potential in football, and played for a number of semi-professional clubs. He has also shown up to the pitchy for charity sides at Old Trafford and Wembley, alongside Soccer Aid.
He isn’t the only famous face in his family, with his younger brother Ross Little who is also an actor and is best known for his role in Born and Bred.
Family tragedy
Ralf Little has claimed that his late sister Ceri’s “devastating” Dᴇᴀᴛʜ during their childhood years motivated him to strive for success. The Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise star was just nine-years-old when his sibling, then 14, fell to her Dᴇᴀᴛʜ from a 150ft cliff during a family holiday in Cornwall.
Admitting the tragic incident was partially to blame for his separation for his parents’ divorce, he went on to confess he “came out fighting” since he was “filled with rage”. Speaking 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. 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 channeled 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. I came out fighting.”
The actor was engaged to Lindsey Ferrentino (Image: Getty)
Engagement breakdown
Last year, Ralf suffered further heartache when he confirmed his split from fiancée Lindsey Ferrentino by joining the celebrity dating app Raya.
The MailOnline revealed there were cracks in their relationship earlier in the year after the US playwright had stopped wearing her engagement ring and the couple unfollowed each other on social media.
But by joining the dating site, Ralf cemented his single status and was seen growing closer to actress Shelley Lankovits, who also worked on Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise as an assistant director.
An audience member told MailOnline that they spent a cosy evening at the Frog and Bucket comedy club in Manchester where they were spotted kissing and “acting like a couple”.
They told the outlet: “They were quite tactile together, sharing the odd kiss – it looked like they were more than just mates. They were clearly very into each other and didn’t care that people had spotted them. It was all very cosy.”
The Royle Family star met Lindsey in 2015 when he appeared in her stage play Ugly Lies The Bone during its London run, which also starred his Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise predecessor Kris Marshall.
They began fating shortly afterwards, Ralf relocating to New York where the Florida native resided in order to live closeby to Broadway and proposed in 2018 using her grandmother’s ring.
The couple spent large periods of time away from each other due to their individual work projectsm which saw Ralf live six months of the year on the Caribbean island of Guaeloupe, where Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise is shot. At points, Lindsey stayed in the Caribbean with him, working on several of her plays, including her musical The Queen of Versailles.
Indeed, Lindsey’s career has rocketed during her relationship with Ralf. Speaking in June 2023, during an Instagram Q&A, Ralf admitted spending time away from Lindsey and their dogs was hard. That same month, the pair stopped sharing loved-up snaps online and they haven’t referenced each other since until their split was announced.
