A star of Beyond Paradise has confirmed that one character is set to exit the show when the team face a series of budget cuts.
The cosy crime drama returned to BBC One and iPlayer last night, for the premiere of its its fourth season.
As its story continued, Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) reckoned with the recent departure of the station’s Chief Superintendent.
This, in turn, puts Humphrey in a precarious situation, with budget cuts forcing the station to lay off one of three beloved colleagues.
But who’s in the firing line?
Zara Ahmadi, who plays Esther Williams in the Death in Paradise spin-off, has revealed the dilemma Humphrey faces.
‘He’s put in such a difficult situation because Humphrey has so much heart, and he’s so passionate about his job and about his team,’ Zahra told Radio Times.
Humphrey’s finally found a sense of contentment in Shipton Abbott – but his world is upturned when Esther, Kelby and Margo’s futures all hang in the balance.
With Zahra playing Esther, Dylan is played by Derry Girls’ Dylan Llewellyn, and Margo by Felicity Montagu.
‘To have that compromised in the way that it is is really, really tough for him,’ Zahra continued.
‘I think everyone’s so important, and everyone plays their part. And if you remove just one person, you really feel it,’ she said of the potential loss.
Can Humphrey hold his team together?
Hankering down on Humphrey’s dilemma, Survivinthe20s posited that Esther might be the one to bite the bullet, writing: ‘I think it’s going to be Esther as her daughter wants to leave Shipton Abbott.’
‘We need to protest!! We can’t lose any of them!!!!’ protested chuckles33, while lucy_13xxx described the unlucky candidates as ‘our family for life.’
‘A very hard descision,’ added PorteousMary, while Debbieblackma14 described it as ‘cruel’ to poor Humphrey.
Still, The team’s uncertainty regarding their future didn’t overshadow fans’ enjoyment of the season premiere, with X user nahsosmall describing it as ‘a glorious return.’
LB130 called it ‘the perfect show’ for the end of the week, joining DebbieBlackma14 in feeling that it was a ‘really good opening’ to the new series.
Following the debut of season four, there’s a feeling that the spin-off is really beginning to hit its stride.
This includes Zahra, who noted that Humphrey had ‘really found his pocket’ in Shipton Abbott, while acknowledging ‘I have to be respectful to Death In Paradise.’
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Star Kris previously railed against critics of the show, hitting back against a world that ‘takes itself so f***ing seriously.’
Speaking to Radio Times in 2024, he said: ‘I have a theory – not a theory, actually, it’s a fact – that to make a show like Death in Paradise or Beyond Paradise, that has a broad demographic, that you can sit down and watch with your kids, that bonds all family members in the room, is incredibly hard to do,’ he said.
‘And to have people scorn it… I’m fine with it now but it bothered me a bit in the past. These shows are hard to make and they bring people together – that’s got to be lauded a little bit, right?’
Beyond Paradise returns to BBC One and iPlayer at 8pm on Friday.
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