09 March 2023 , 09:17
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Death in Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise was created because of “amazing actor” Kris Marshall, show bosses say.
The TV star, who plays DI Humphrey Goodman in the BBC crime drama, reprised his role in the new series which kicked off on February 24.
Set in the fictional town of Shipton Abbott in Devon, it follows the detective and his fiancée Martha (Sally Bretton) who have moved back to the coast for a quiet life.
But with a high crime rate, Humphrey may have got a bit more than he bargained for as he gets to work trying to solve a host of baffling new cases.
Explaining why they decided to create a whole new series based around Humphrey’s character, writer and executive producer Tony Jordan revealed Kris was the inspiration.
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Beyond Paradise follows DI Goodman and fiancée Martha as they start a new life in Devon (PA)He said: “It’s a lot to do with Kris. He’s an amazing actor.”
Speaking about the cast as a whole, he continued: “Those great actors have something: whatever the story is, you want to be sat in the room with them.
“If they’re on screen in a bar, you want to be in that bar and if they’re in conversation, you want to be a part of that conversation too. You’re drawn to them, and Kris has that in abundance.
“Humphrey has this unerring zest for life, people are drawn to that positive energy. He was always a special character, so why not go back and see what he’s up to?”
Humphrey joins the local police force to solve a host of baffling cases (BBC)Fellow executive producer Tim Key also praised Kris’ performance, saying it was the reason they expanded the Death in Paradise series.
He explained: “The answer came in the form of Kris Marshall’s character DI Humphrey Goodman.
“When Kris left Death in Paradise, we knew we wanted to do more with him. Then when Sally Bretton joined the show as his love interest Martha Lloyd, we could just see the amazing chemistry they had together.
“They have continued to professionally bump into each other over the years and have coincidentally worked together between Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise.
“There’s some serendipity in the world that kept leading them to work together and we just knew we could do something special with them both.”
Kris as Humphrey in original series Death in Paradise (BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)Asked what it was about Humphrey’s character that resonated so well with the audience, Tim said it was because he and actor Kris are so similar in real life.
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He shared: “Humphrey is a glorious, clumsy, genius mess and Kris is so talented and unique.
“He’s a great physical comedian, but is also hugely empathetic. You have no trouble believing Humphrey is clever, his physicality makes him clumsy and he’s incredibly enthusiastic about everything and flings himself into new opportunities.
“Kris is quite similar. He is full of energy and gets really excited about things. Humphrey is also quite vulnerable, you just know he was looking for the person to complete him, and he found that person in Martha.”
Beyond Paradise is set several years after Death in Paradise and the most recent episode saw Humphrey and Martha throw themselves into work after the sad loss of a baby.
Speaking about the storyline, producer Tim said they wanted to explore their characters' journey of starting a family and becoming parents.
“We wanted to tell an honest story of how hard this is and what the definition of family means. They bring such truth and heart and warmth to that story, we knew we could do something surprising people wouldn’t expect from the show,” he added.
*Beyond Paradise airs on Fridays at 8pm on BBC One or catch up on BBC iPlayer