It’s time to look away from St Marie, and towards Shipton Abbott for more cases with DI Humphrey Goodman. 

As Death in Paradise series 14 has passed the halfway mark, the BBC are keen to remind us that there’s another Paraverse show waiting in the wings.

Now into its third series, Beyond Paradise follows former DiP lead Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman. Based in the fictional Shipton Abbot, he solves perplexing crimes and attempts to maintain family life with his fiancé Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton).

While there’s no start date yet, we’d expect Beyond Paradise to begin as main show ends, like previous years.

The BBC confirm that all the series regulars return alongside Marshall and Bretton. That’s Zahra Ahmadi’s DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford,  and Felicity Montagu playing Margo Martins. Plus, Barbara Flynn as Mattha’s mother Anne Lloyd.

Additionally, Jade Harrison returns as CS Charlie Woods, with Melina Sinadinou back as Esther’s daughter Zoe. Worryingly, Martha’s ex and former business partner, and Humphrey’s love rival from series 1, Archie Hughes (Jamie Bamber) is also back on the scene.

Here’s what we know about Series 3:

The team faces a host of baffling cases in the upcoming series, including a body discovered in a river on the county border, a perplexing chocolate box poisoning, a long-standing farming feud, and a spiking incident at sea. Away from the police station, Martha and Humphrey must overcome unexpected hurdles as foster parents, while the reappearance of Martha’s old flame Archie presents an unexpected challenge.

Meanwhile, Esther experiences a surprising twist in her personal life, Anne confronts painful memories following a health scare, and Kelby embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery.

The guest cast

Also announced for series 3 are Hugh Dennis (Outnumbered) as local councillor Arthur Donelan, as well as Steve Oram (DI Ray) and Gabby Best (Changing Ends) as Humphrey and Esther’s Cornish policing counterparts.

Chizzy Akudolu (Holby City) returns as Reverend Kate, while Kevin McNally (Doctor Who: Flux) and Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly) appear as farming rivals George Ellis and Lotty Lewes.

Plus, we’re introduced to Rosie, played by Bella Rei Blue Stevenson, who arrives in Humphrey and Martha’s life as their newest foster placement.

Joining them are Angela Curran (Doc Martin), Abra Thompson (Showtrial), Joseph Ollman (Queenie), Alexandra Gilbreath (Not Going Out), Alicia Charles (Phoenix Rise), Matthew Gravelle (Silent Witness), Brandon Fellows (Dead Hot), Abdul Salis (Love Actually), Jason Hughes (Midsummer Murders), Silas Carson (Doctor Who), Syreeta Kumar (Fool Me Once), Amy Morgan (Mr Selfridge), Oliver Hembrough (The White Princess), Murray McArthur (Wonka) and Dean Boodaghians-Nolan (House of the Dragon).

Plus, we’re promised returns appearances from Chris Jenks as Josh Woods, Eva Feiler as Nurse Lucy, Amalia Vitale as Hannah. Not forgetting Selwyn the Duck!

Beyond Paradise season 3 comes from Red Planet Pictures for the BBC and BritBox International.

We’ll keep you posted on the show’s start date, and you can find the first two seasons on the BBC iPlayer.

Return to Paradise

We’re still waiting on news regarding the future of the other Paraverse show, the Aussie-set Return to Paradise, and keeping our fingers crossed. The Aussie-set show, which stars Anna Sampson as DI Mackenzie Clarke finished its UK run over Christmas and left us up in the air about her future.

It’s worth noting that the show is a co-production between the BBC and the Australian ABC, so there’s potentially more involved. Season 2 made a list of ‘in development’ shows last November, in a report on ABC’s upcoming slate, but that’s far from official. As we said, fingers crossed!