Death in Paradise’s Ralf Little says ‘quite a shock’ as he learns show guest’s tragic news
Death in Paradise star Ralf Little was left emotional on the latest episode of Will and Ralf Should Know Better
Death in Paradise star Ralf Little became visibly moved during the latest instalment of his new programme after hearing distressing news from a guest.
Ralf, 46, has joined forces with friend Will Mellor for the second series of their popular programme Will and Ralf Should Know Better. The series follows actors Will, 49, and Ralf – mates for more than two decades – on a humour-filled quest to identify which elements of contemporary life they’re managing well but are frequently mishandling.
During the fifth episode of series two, Ralf and Will opted to tackle cycling Cheddar Gorge, where they encountered cyclist and professional athlete Luke, who had pedalled from Bristol to Beijing.
Following their cycling expedition, Luke disclosed that in 2018 he received a diagnosis of an extremely rare ‘incurable’ stage 4 cancer, with medical professionals estimating he had mere months remaining.
Discussing his cycling adventure, Luke informed Will and Ralf: “When I was 24, I’d just graduated from university and I was like, ‘Right, I’m about to start my job, get on the career ladder.’ Before I kind of went and did all that, I was like, I’m going to have a final adventure, I’m going to go to Russia.
“When I was out there, I’d got this, like, aching left shoulder and eventually, I went and saw a doctor. I took my top off and I turned around, the doctor said, Oh my God.
“So we didn’t really know what it was, but suddenly I realised it was serious. So 48 hours later, I was back in the UK, had a biopsy, needle sticking into my back. Then three weeks after that, I went to the doctors and they said, ‘Luke, you’ve got cancer.’
“But then the doctor said, ‘Luke, it’s super rare. It’s super aggressive and it’s already spread to your lungs.’ Basically they’re like, you know, this isn’t really one of the treatable cancers. We’re going to give you some chemotherapy and that might buy you some time.”
When asked how long he had been given, Luke replied: “Months!”, leaving Will and Ralf visibly shaken by the heartbreaking revelation, particularly given that Luke received his diagnosis at just 24 years old.
Death in Paradise star Ralf Little and Will Mellor got emotional on the latest episode of their new show as they learnt some upsetting news from a show guest (Image: Channel 4/U)
He went on to say: “It just didn’t make sense. You know, like, you work hard, you get a reward. A month beforehand, I’d just run my first ever, like, 50K race. I was like, you know, I’m 24 years old, I’m invincible, I’m super fit.”
Luke went on: “I kind of thought, well, if I’ve only got, you know, three months left to live, don’t I want to try and make this, like, the best three months of my life? Since I was about 14 or 15, I’d had this dream of, like, cycling around the world but I was like, I should probably do that after university.
“And after university, I was like, I should probably get a job. And, you know, probably after that, I’d be like, I should buy a house, family. So literally on the day that I was diagnosed, even in that, like, hit of grief and, like, horror and, like, sadness, I was like, if I do somehow get through my treatment, I want to cycle around the world. That’s what kicked it off.”
Nevertheless, Luke had further heartbreaking news to reveal, as he explained: “The other thing that happened at the same time, when I was doing my first round of chemotherapy, is my brother was in the Lake District, sort of doing some big kind of open game with his friends, and he ended up falling. And he died.”
Will was visibly shocked by the tragic revelation, exclaiming: “Oh my God, Jesus! Your brother died?” whilst Ralf appeared moved as he fell silent.
In a video package, Will reflected: “When he told us that his brother had passed away, Ralf went really quiet at that point, and I could see that it had hit him.”
After their cycling venture, Luke revealed that in 2018 he was diagnosed with a very rare ‘incurable’ stage 4 cancer, with doctors giving him months to live (Image: Channel 4/U)
Ralf then shared in his own video segment: “Yeah, it was quite… it was quite a shock to me, when he said that, losing his brother, and his brother falling… what are the chances. I didn’t want to be like: ‘Oh, yo, bro, samesies, you know?'”
Tragically, when Ralf was just nine years old, his sister, Ceri, then 14, plunged 150ft to her death from a cliff whilst on a family holiday to Cornwall. Ralf has stated that the tragedy contributed to his parents’ separation and profoundly impacted his other sister Rowena – yet it drove him to excel both academically and in extracurricular pursuits.
The camera then returned to Luke, who said: “I feel like, for me, the reason I feel it’s so important to talk about John is because most of the time, people would be looking at me in the situation that I was in and saying, like, ‘Oh, it’s OK for him to go after his dream, because he’s got terminal cancer.’ But they wouldn’t apply it to themselves, you know?
“Then you just… I think about what happened to John, and anyone would have thought it would be him, like, sitting here today, talking about me. None of us know. None of us know.”
Speaking in another VT, Will said: “Me and him [Ralf] have both lost siblings, and it does remind you of the pain. It’s indescribable.”
Luke noted that cancer has been a “strange blessing” in his life, explaining that it’s compelled him to undertake things he ordinarily wouldn’t have the courage to do, such as filming a documentary, authoring a book and becoming a professional athlete. Luke has also generated £131,000 for cancer charities and been honoured with an MBE.
Providing an update on his condition, he said: “So, I’m still in remission, but, you know, I got diagnosed seven years ago, but we just never expected to get to this point.”
