Death in Paradise fan favourite Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert) returned to the show in the latest episode of season 13, but not quite in the way fans had expected.
The former Saint Marie detective sergeant cropped up in an old photograph Neville (Ralf Little) picked up when visiting Commissioner Selwyn (Don Warrington) at his home.
"The old gang," he remarked, commenting on Florence and the two other subjects in the photo – Camille Bordey (Sara Martins) and Dwayne Myers (Danny John-Jules).
The Commissioner and Neville briefly discussed Florence in particular before moving on to the latest murder at a care home.That's it. That's all fans were treated to. A quick exchange before the show hurried on to the main action.
However, despite being to the point, their conversation was loaded with teasy clues that could hint at Florence's return.
Is Florence Cassell returning to Death in Paradise?
To answer that, we must first address the elephant in the room – namely that Death in Paradise has just confirmed that Florence is in witness protection.When we last saw Jobert's character, she was leaving the Island in search of a new start.
Her undercover case as the au pair to the child of the murdering drug trafficker Miranda Priestly (that name just exudes bad vibes), had made life in Saint Marie dangerous for Florence.
Even with Miranda (Victoria Ekanoye) caught and behind bars, Florence felt it was safer for her to leave the island and all its bad memories, which included being held at gunpoint and the death of her fiancé in season eight.
As it turned out, she wasn't the only one who felt it risky for her to stick around.
When Neville asked after her wellbeing and happiness, probing about whether or not the Commissioner ever heard from her, Selwyn crisply stated: "She's in witness protection, that's all either of us need to know. For her safety."
It's unlikely that the show would use the mentioning of Florence as a mere plot device to explore the idea of witness protection in the active case they were currently investigating in this episode's murder of the week. It therefore clearly means more.
At only episode two of the new series, this isn't even the first time we've glimpsed Florence, again, through Neville's presumed longing for her.
During the new series premiere, Neville could be seen looking wistfully at a photograph of her. This moment is what caused fans to initially wonder if Florence could be returning to the show.The Florence-related clues feel like a foreshadowing of a return on the horizon.
Fans will remember that Neville held a torch for the DS, but was rebuffed when she told him she saw him as just a friend. Still, their affection for one another ran deep and their emotional goodbye was so heartbreaking.
Almost as heartbreaking as how severely Neville had his heart crushed in season 12 when he fell for a ruthless criminal who did a pretty good job luring him into a relationship and pretending to love him, only to leave him devastated when the truth came out.
Her betrayal has had huge consequences for Neville, leaving him afraid to embark on romance or to even trust in that capacity again.
The Death in Paradise Christmas special, however, did hint at a shift for him. Though still very gunshy at the thought of loving again, the arrival of his mother helped break down some of Neville's defences, leaving him more open.
Speaking on the possibility of him finding love again Little said: "We join Neville at the start of this series and he's very emotionally bruised from what happened at the end of last series.
"And so he has to try and find love, and he has to be persuaded to believe in love again, which is a very profound journey for him.
"Because when he first arrived on the island, he was too nervous to live a full life, and he's sort of back in the same place again emotionally.
"So maybe Neville will get a happy ending."
If anyone could persuade him to get to 'the same place emotionally again,', it's Florence whom he interestingly enough, he thanked at the end of season 11 when he said: "You've made this island a home for me."
Could she encourage him to feel that way again?
Fast forward to season 13, and Neville pining over Florence's photographs suggests there's a chance.
