Beyond Paradise’s Martha was wrong to say yes to Archie – but it was a shining moment for Humphrey

He then later became embroiled in a very public wrestling match with Humphrey, who had understandably had enough of his meddling.

But after that, it appeared Archie would darken Humphrey and Martha’s door no more given his absence from the second season and the Christmas specials.

And we didn’t really expect him to feature again, either. Martha had bought him out of The Ten Mile Kitchen, after all, and a friendship would surely be impossible.

And yet, he does own a vineyard in the area, so there was always a possibility that he would reappear, which is exactly what happened in the season 3 opener.

Shortly after Anne’s accident, he unexpectedly turned up at Martha’s new waterfront restaurant with a request. The caterers for the launch of his new wine had dropped out at the last minute and the only option at such short notice was his ex-girlfriend, apparently.

And rather controversially, after minimal pushback, she agreed.

While Archie was quick to point out that it would be a good business opportunity for her – his 40 potential new clients would also be her 40 potential new clients – it’s not exactly appropriate given the chaos he unleashed when he was last in Shipton Abbott,

It’s also important to note that Archie wasn’t making a small request of Martha. He wasn’t asking if she could collect a parcel for him, or if he could borrow a cup of sugar. No, he asked her if she would put on an entire spread, at the 11th hour, and while she had her hands full running her own business during a hugely transitional period.

But while his behaviour last time should have been grounds enough to say no, there’s another reason why Martha should have refused: helping Archie meant cancelling her date night with Humphrey.

While debating whether they should say yes to welcoming another child into their home at this moment in time, she shared her concerns about the pair of them not spending enough time together, just the two of them. And yet, when an opportunity presented itself, she chose Archie instead.

But while we’re not thrilled with Martha, who is sometimes far too nice for her own good, Humphrey did himself proud.

When she arrived at the police station to tell him that their plans had changed, he didn’t freak out, or attempt to mask his feelings with his awkward, goofball humour.

By contrast, the detective was completely honest about how he was feeling – and most strikingly, he was as calm as we’d ever seen him when faced with some potentially destabilising news.

“Are you mad?” she asked.

“No. Yes,” he responded. “No because you’re kind and of course you said you’d help out if you could, and yes because I was looking forward to our date.”

Humphrey even accepted Archie’s invitation to attend the wine launch, although some might say that was just a way for him to keep tabs on the vineyard owner around Martha. There is clearly – and obviously – still animosity there, as evidenced by Humphrey punching him in the face while they were pretending to square up to one another.

But slight mishap aside – true, wholesale change takes time, after all, and can you really blame him? – what became abundantly clear in all of this was Humphrey’s personal growth and his total trust in Martha and their relationship.

While they didn’t get married in the season 2 finale, they are now on completely solid ground having fully committed to one another, despite not being able to conceive naturally, which was the only issue that could have torn them apart.

But it didn’t, with the pair choosing one another regardless, and as a result, their relationship is as steadfast as it has ever been.

“They [the audience] enjoy the love between Martha and Humphrey and they enjoy that they still have fun together,” Sally Bretton told RadioTimes.com.

“And of course they’ve had their ups and downs, but they are very bonded and people enjoy seeing that sort of relationship. It’s comforting, and Humphrey is such a warm and lovable character that I don’t think people like seeing him in distress.”

Kris Marshall went on to say that while the couple have had their “challenges”, they’re “unique in terms of a main protagonist couple who don’t have these massive indiscretions and dramas between them”.

“They’re just a good couple to spend time with,” he added. “They’re both quite quirky. They’re both quite flawed in that they’re not [of the] Instagram generation, they’re not glossy. They’re just a really warm, friendly couple who love each other implicitly.

“And I think that’s quite unique for what is ostensibly a drama, to not have that drama and to still be fun to spend time with them, I think that’s a real feather in our cap.”

Beyond Paradise season 3 continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday 4th April at 8pm.