Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise’s Kris Marshall exit explained as fans hail him top detective

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise is set to make a triumphant return to BBC One on Friday, January 31 at 9pm with Don Gilet starring as Mervin Wilson. His character travelled to the Caribbean to meet his mother for the first time, although things didn’t quite go according to plan.

As he remains on the scene, nostalgic fans are looking back fondly on the detectives who have come and gone over the series. Kris Marshall entered the fray as the disorganised London detective Humphrey Goodman in the third season.

Taking charge of the case involving the Dᴇᴀᴛʜ of his predecessor Richard Poole (Ben Miller), he eventually made the island his permanent home after his wife left him. His journey ended in season six when he chose to leave the island to be with Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) in London.

In various discussions about his departure from the show, Kris explained that personal reasons linked to his young family were a determining factor. On Lorraine Kelly’s morning programme, he shared insights into his decision: “I realised I had to get my son to school.

“He was becoming a bit too Caribbean – he refused to wear shoes and would only drink coconut water and eat pineapple. He was very good on the beach but not so good with Maths and English, so I decided that it was time to get him to school.”

Kris lamented, “So the show had to go, really. But six months later I’m standing on a film set in a car park in Dagenham thinking at 4 o’clock in the morning thinking, ‘Have I made the right decision?'”

Fans of Kris Marshall’s portrayal of Humphrey can rejoice, however, as he reprised the beloved character in the spin-off series, Beyond Paradise, which tracks the life of Humphrey and Martha in the fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott.

Reddit has been buzzing with discussions over who the top detective is, and it looks like Humphrey is leading the pack. User Yorkshirelad4 shared, “I liked Humphrey played by Kris Marshall. What made me smile was when writing his notes he used scrap paper instead of a book.”

Darkersaturn chimed in with, “Humphrey has always been my favourite, but that’s because he’s a lot like me in a lot of ways.”

It seems there’s quite the fanbase for Humphrey as Tarantula22 also joined in, “Humphrey. I know Richard has his fans but let’s face it. When DiP is mentioned, most people’s thoughts go to the Humphrey era.”

Sk888888 weighs in too, revealing, “Humphrey will always be my #1 (the Parrot episode was the first one I ever saw) but I came to love Richard, still can’t re-watch Season 3, episode 1.”

Kris Marshall, loved for his portrayal of Humphrey, continued to make waves in drama land, bagging the role of Tom Parker in ‘Sanditon’ and appearing in ‘We Hunt Together’ and ‘Promises. ‘

Fans of his detective work won’t have to miss him though; he’s back on the beat in ‘Beyond Paradise’, which is in its third season.