Little's break came when he was offered the role of Antony Royle in the BBC sitcom, The Royle Family. This prompted him to abandon his medical studies at the University of Manchester and concentrate on his acting career. The original run of the series was from autumn 1998 to December 2000, and after a one-off special in 2006 returned for a series of Christmas specials from 2008 to 2012, with Little returning to the role of Antony in 2006, 2009 and 2010.