Beyond Paradise detective in ‘walk of shame’ after shock one night stand

What did you miss?

Beyond Paradise fans were left reeling when lead character DS Esther Williams had a one night stand with long-time villain Archie Hughes.

Fan favourite-Esther – played by Zahra Ahmadi – had to do the walk of shame after waking up in bed with sleazy wine bar owner Archie, played by TV heartthrob Jamie Bamber.

The latest episode of the BBC crime drama, which aired on Friday, 4 April, opened with Esther waking up in Archie’s bed and then trying to creep back into her home in the clothes she was wearing the night before.

What, how, and why?

Archie has previously been a love rival in the show to Kris Marshall’s character DI Humphrey Goodman, trying to woo his fiancee Martha Lloyd. But in the launch episode of the new series, Archie was seen flirting with Esther at the opening party for his new winery.

In the latest instalment of the Devonshire D.e.a.t.h in Paradise spin-off, Esther had a one night stand with Archie. The charmer was clearly shocked when she declined his offer of breakfast and refused to discuss what happened, joking: “What do you want, marks out of 10?” And when he pushed her for an answer, she gave him a seven.

Later when the pair bumped into one another at the cafe, Archie asked Esther out for a drink. When she turned him down, he said: “Scared? Not that I blame you. I read somewhere that women of a certain age like to stay in their comfort zone.” He added: “Well, that’s stung a bit.”

Esther did agree to go for a drink with him, they talked about why they were single. Archie claimed he as busy with work. Straight talking Esther said: “I still think it’s a cop out. If you’re still single, it’s more about you as a person than what you do for a living.” She then claimed: “I think basically, I just don’t like men. I just find them a bit obvious obvious. You can generally see the cogs working. So for obvious, read, predictable and for predictable, reed dull. I think they have their place. That very much depends on the man, but generally a little bit lower down the food chain than they think they are. And if I can scare them off.”

Archie then ashed her: “So what about Zoe’s dad? But Esther shut him down, saying: “I’m not sure that’s something I wanna talk about.”

What did viewers say?

The new romantic storyline provoked a strong reaction from viewers, who were concerned that bad guy Archie would hurt Esther.

One wrote on social media platform X: “Urgh no Esther whyyyy? Archie is a totally slimy creep! That line he gave about “needing to be filled up” was borderline sexual harassment! Hope this isnt an ongoing thing.Seriously Esther, do not go there (again). You can do so much better than Archie. He makes my skin crawl…”

Another posted: “Oh Archie, just get lost does this place have a pier, take a long walk off a short one i love Mr bamber, i just hate his character #beyondparadise”

Somebody else commented: “A women of a certain age oh archie you are disgusting #BeyondParadise”

Another viewer tweeted: “Well it is Jamie Bamber……who wouldn’t? #beyondparadise.”

But viewers already have a nickname for the new couple.

One suggested: “I thought we’d get a few ‘Archer’ dates instead of being thrown straight in. #BeyondParadise”

While another viewer dubbed them: “Archester? #BeyondParadise”

What else happened on D.e.a.t.h In Paradise?

Martha and Humphrey got a baptism of fire in parenting their foster child.

DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) and Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) have been keen to get into family life through fostering in series three, but when Rosie moves into their home they quickly found out the reality of parenting can be tough.

However, Humphrey was eager to win Rosie over and after spending a lot of time thinking about what to read to her and shopping at the book shop, he bonded with her over a bedtime story.

Watch: Beyond Paradise’s Martha and Humphrey face sleepless nights in exclusive clip

Beyond Paradise continues on BBC One at 8pm on Fridays.