TWO very big things are about to change in actor Ralf Little’s life.

Firstly, this week he becomes the new face of the prime time hit show Death in Paradise ­— and secondly, the former Bolton School pupil turns 40.

The Royle Family star ­— who first played ‘our Antony’ in the cult comedy series when he was still at school ­— is about to see his profile rise back to the levels he first realised back in the 1990s.

Ralf replaces Ardal O’Hanlan as the lead in the detective drama which pulls in millions of viewers every week on BBC One.

And ahead of his debut ­— which hits screens tomorrow ­— he has been speaking to the media in a wide range of interviews with everyone from Radio Times to the Guardian.

In the show, Ralf plays DI Neville Parker, a fish out of water on the show’s fictional Saint Marie island.

Ralf told Radio Times: “Neville is a man who’s besieged by many physical problems. He is basically is allergic to everything.

“So he’s had to develop over the course of his life a very narrow band of experiences, a very limited routine.

“But he’s also not one of these real nerdy losers – he’s a normal guy. Out of necessity, this is the way he has to live.”

Ralf, who was banned from Twitter during the election when he changed his name to mock Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, is vocal on social media and has had spats with former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.

He told The Times that he did not speak to his mum for three days when she voted Leave.

And he revealed in the Guardian that his “worst ever job” was serving drinks to Whites stars after games ­— and the reason for his misshapen nose was a fight as a teenager.

He said: “For two weeks I worked behind the players’ bar at Bolton Wanderers football club ­— footballers don’t tip.”

“When I was 17, a week before I was due to start filming The Royle Family, I was trying to break up a fight and somebody whacked me.

“Because I was about to start filming, I couldn’t go through the process to reset it and I became known as the guy who looks as I look now.”