Death In Paradise stars make surprise appearance in Beyond Paradise finale

The first series of the Death In Paradise spin-off show drew to a close on Friday evening.
Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) will make a surprise visit to the sun-soaked island of Saint Marie (Denis Guyenon/BBC/PA)
Connie Evans7 April 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The cast of Death In Paradise made a surprise appearance in its spin-off show Beyond Paradise with Kris Marshall’s character DI Humphrey Goodman meeting one of his successors, DI Neville Parker, played by Ralf Little.

Friday’s finale of the new BBC drama saw Humphrey battle against difficulties in his relationship with Martha, played by Sally Bretton, to solve the case of a burglary before reuniting with some familiar faces from the original series.

During the first series of Beyond Paradise, viewers have witnessed Humphrey and Martha’s relationship become increasingly strained as the couple struggled to conceive despite both longing for children, before the couple reunited on the fictional island of Saint Marie in the series finale episode.

The pair’s difficulties came to a head on Friday evening as Humphrey retreated to his old home of Saint Marie, the Caribbean island where the original series is set, after seemingly failing to convince Martha that their relationship could work, with or without children.

In a message left on the answering machine at Martha’s mother’s house, a conflicted Humphrey could be heard saying: “I just wanted to say, I’m off really, thought I’d go clear my head a bit so bye.”

He added: “But also, I’ve been thinking about what you said, a lot, about you thinking you’re not enough for me, I don’t want you to think that, that you’re not enough.

“Because how could someone like you not be enough.

“And I know you think not being able to have children would leave a hole in my life, and I’m not going to pretend that’s not true, but it would leave a teeny weeny little hole.

“Whereas, not having you would leave a hole I don’t think I could bear.

“One I could never fill. So I know you think you’re doing me a favour, but you’re not, you’re really not.

“And I’m sorry but if you love someone then you stay with them, and whatever life throws at you you face it together.

“And it’s not that things wouldn’t hurt, because they would, but we would hurt together and not on our own. I just wanted to say that. And I love you. Bye.”

After arriving on Saint Marie, Humphrey encountered his old boss and a familiar Death In Paradise face – Commissioner Selwyn Patterson played by Don Warrington – who offered some wise words of advice.

Marshall, who starred in three series of Death In Paradise between 2014 and 2017, was replaced as the detective inspector in the show by Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon, who then saw The Royle Family’s Little take over the role.

In Beyond Paradise, Martha discovers Humphrey was headed for Saint Marie after he booked his hotel room on her credit card and she swiftly followed him to the Caribbean island, where she asked if he meant what he had said in the answerphone message.

During the emotional exchange Humphrey replied: “You’re all the family I need, I swear, there’s isn’t a me without a you.”

Shortly after the pair sealed their reunion with a kiss, Death In Paradise character Catherine Bordey, played by Elizabeth Bourgine, made a surprise appearance.

She went on to introduce the couple to the rest of the Saint Marie detective team, including DS Naomi Thomas, played by Shantol Jackson and officer Marlon Pryce, played by Tahj Miles.

The BBC confirmed Beyond Paradise will return for a second series and a Christmas special following the popularity of its first outing, with Marshall and Bretton returning to reprise their roles.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC drama, said: “I’m beyond excited to return to Shipton Abbott for both a Christmas special and second series of Beyond Paradise.

“The response from BBC viewers to series one has been a joy to see, and like its millions of fans I’m intrigued to find out what new mysteries lie in store for Humphrey, Martha and the team.”

All episodes of Beyond Paradise are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in