When it was announced that a spin-off series of Death in Paradise – the BBC’s much-mocked, but massively popular 15-season comedy crime series – was going to take Kris Marshall’s DI Humphrey Goodman from the blue seas of the Caribbean and plant him in Shipton Abbott in Devon, fans weren’t sure it could be pulled off.
After all, the whole point of Death in Paradise, which is still ongoing, is that the murders take place on sunny Saint Marie, a fictional island in the tropics. And part of the fun is all the argy-bargy between the Caribbean and British police officers.
But Beyond Paradise season one more than made it over the line, with 8.7 million viewers watching the show’s first episode over its first month. The spin-off series contained lots of the original’s winning components – Goodman’s relationship with Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) was the bridge between old and new, and it was interesting to watch Goodman settle in to his new life in England, all while he helped to solve a few crimes.
Now, Beyond Paradise is back for a part three, and it could just be the “strongest series yet”, executive producer Tim Key has said.
What’s the new season going to be about?
Details about the plot of the upcoming season are few and far between, but the official synopsis has dropped a few hints.
Viewers can expect to see Humphrey and his teams kept on their toes as they are tasked with investigating “a body found in the river on the county border, a baffling chocolate box poisoning, a historic farming feud and a spiking incident on the water”.
The synopsis continues: “Martha and Humphrey must overcome unexpected hurdles as foster parents, while the reappearance of Martha’s old flame Archie presents an unexpected challenge,” continues the official synopsis.
What has happened so far?
The first season saw Humphrey get to know his new colleagues – they initially thought he was a little bit odd – and solve a few crimes alongside his new partner, DS Esther Williams (Zahra Ahmadi).
Meanwhile, Humphrey and his girlfriend Martha were trying, and struggling, to conceive. After some difficult rounds of IVF, Martha chose not to continue trying for a baby, and this resulted in a major fallout between the two. At the end of the series the couple made up.
Then, in season two, Humphrey and Esther were roped into partaking in a murder mystery night on a steam engine where he pressed the wrong lever, sending the vehicle hurtling down the tracks.
The performer playing the corpse was found dead with a real knife in his back, leaving Humphrey with his very own locked-room mystery, a sort of whodunnit.
Away from the murder scene, Humphrey and Martha embarked on the process of becoming foster parents and – almost – tied the knot as the season concluded.
Who will star in the next season?
Happily, most of the cast are returning: Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton are back playing Goodman and Martha; Zahra Ahmadi returns to play Williams, Dylan Llewellyn is back playing Police Constable Kelby Hartford, Felicity Montagu is back as Office Support Margo Martins and Barbara Flynn returns as Anne Lloyd.
Jamie Bamber will also reprise his role as Archie Hughes, who is making a return following his end-of-series one departure.
When will it be released?
Season 3 will premiere in 2025, Times Radio reported, on both BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Where was it filmed?
To create the series’ fictional costal town Shipton Abbott, producers filmed along the south-east coast: in particular in and around Port Eliot, the Cornwall fishing towns of Looe and Saltash, Bere Ferrers in West Devon, and in other areas down the Rame Peninsular.
At the time of filming the second season, Marshall said: “Shipton Abbott is such a wonderful location to call home for a while and it’s a delight to join up with my fellow police team for another batch of weird and wonderful cases, and to see what’s in store for Humphrey and Martha in the next chapter of their lives.”
It was announced that filming for the hit crime drama had commenced last August.
Beyond Paradise season 3 will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
