Kris Marshall as Humphrey, Isaac Vincent-Norgate as Ryan and Sally Bretton as Martha in Beyond Paradise. Red Planet Pictures/Joss Barratt

DI Humphrey Goodman (a.k.a. Kris Marshall) spent three years in ‘paradise’ on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie. Remember, it was DI Goodman who initially arrived to investigate the death of his predecessor, DI Richard Poole, who fell victim to a very unfriendly ice pick in the chest at the beginning of series 3.

Described as ‘endearingly awkward and rather unconventional’, DI Goodman was decidedly less of a ‘fish out of water’ than DI Richard Poole (Ben Miller) as the London detective stayed on the island ‘permanently’ as the new head of the Honoré Police Department after his wife informs him she is leaving him. In the second half of Series 6, Goodman resigns so he can start a new life in London with his then girlfriend Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton), after forming a relationship with her while she was staying at Saint Marie on holiday.

Having taken a page out of the Father Brown / Sister Boniface Mysteries playbook, Marshall starred in the new Death in Paradise spin-off, Beyond Paradise,which saw DI Goodman reunite with now fiancée Martha Lloyd, followed the pair as they ‘navigated’ a new life together in Shipton Abbott, Martha’s hometown which is near the Devon coast and with a surprisingly high crime rate, after they have left London.

Navigation, as we now know from watching the first two series which were nothing short of a weekly emotional roller coaster, means trying to merge Martha’s dream of running her own restaurant while Humphrey continues his role as ‘the new fella’ filling the vacant DI position at Shipton Abbott police station, a slightly antiquated outpost of the Devon & Cornwall Police district.

Series 3, which began filming recently, will see the pair “continue their heartfelt fostering journey”, while new cases include 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 – so ‘Death in Paradise‘ but, at least, there are no ice picks this time around….so far.

Adding to the emotional roller coaster, series 3 will see the return of a familiar face from season 1, as Jamie Bamber returns to reprise his role as Martha’s ex Archie Hughes following his absence in the second run.

Aside from the Captain Obvious return of Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton as Humphrey and Martha, other stars returning for the series 3 include Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Jade Harrison as CS Charlie Woods and Melina Sinadinou as Zoe Williams.

As with most small villages in England, Shipton Abbott seems to have its share of bizarre cases as the original BBC press release noted, “The not-so-sleepy town of Shipton Abbott will be rocked by an entire family disappearing without a trace, a woman claiming she was attacked by a suspect from the seventeenth century, the robbery of a highly prized painting, a body bizarrely discovered in a crop circle and a serial arsonist with a seeming distaste for local businesses.“

A Death in Paradise primer….

As much of a ‘paradise’ as Guadeloupe has always appeared to be, the life expectancy of being the lead in the extraordinarily popular Death in Paradise series, which began in 2011, seems to be around three years. The series began with Ben Miller as DI Richard Poole for series 1-3 with Marshall replacing him as noted above. One can only imagine how taxing it can be to continue to have to solve murders every week on a small picturesque Caribbean island week after week. 🙂

After three series, Marshall was replaced by Ardal O’Hanlon as DI Jack Mooney at the end of series 6. DI Mooney, a recent widower who was grieving the loss of his wife and who assisted the team on a case in London, stayed on the island solving crimes part way through series 9 when he decides he’s ready to face the memory of his deceased wife and returns to London with his daughter.

O’Hanlon was replaced by Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker who initially dislikes being on the island and has severe allergies, especially with mosquito bites. He initially only comes to the island because they need a British detective to sign off on a case, and is forced to stay longer after a period of illness renders him temporarily unfit to travel. However, he decides to remain on the island and eventually warms to the island lifestyle. DI Parker lasted an amazing 5 years on the island only to be replaced for the upcoming series 14 by Don Gilét (Eastenders, Holby City, 55 Degrees North).

Thankfully, the British are masterful at replacing leading characters in high-profile series, rarely missing a beat. One only has to look as far back as Spooks (MI5 in the U.S.) to understand my point. As long as you have a Don Warrington (Death in Paradise‘s Commissioner Selwyn Patterson) or Peter Firth (MI5’s Sir Harry Pearce) as your anchor for the entire run of the series, you’re covered.

Beyond Paradise will return for a holiday special this Christmas and then series three will hit early 2025 with six new episodes.