How Beyond Paradise places foster care at the heart of primetime detective drama

When Beyond Paradise began in early 2023, audiences knew what to expect. Following the hugely successful formula perfected in sunny Sainte Marie, the spin-off from Death In Paradise would continue to offer a winning weekly cocktail of strange and surprising mysteries, top-class sleuthing from DI Humphrey Goodman, plus all the warmth and wit we knew and loved from the original, neatly transplanted into a new wonderful setting in South Devon.

“The original idea was to transpose the DNA from its mothership without making it a carbon copy,” lead actor Kris Marshall tells us, on a video call from his home in the New Forest.

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What we may not have been expecting from Beyond Paradise was an ongoing and complex exploration of what family means. Yet, from episode one, we were drawn into the personal lives of central couple Humphrey and Martha (Sally Bretton) as they faced a heartbreaking pregnancy loss before going on to make the decision to discontinue their IVF journey. In the 2023 Christmas special, the story moved on further as they met social worker Hannah Owen (Amalia Vitale), who has now become a recurring character, and opened up to the idea of becoming foster parents. 

Creating the story has been a labour of love for all concerned. For a show that likes to wrap its mysteries in neat bows as DI Goodman reveals culprit, motive and often-convoluted criminal methodology each episode, this was a bold step into messier territory. But the ongoing storyline has deepened our attachment to Humphrey and Martha while informing us in ways more synonymous with the grittier, more critically acclaimed end of TV drama. 

“It was also important that we focused on what happens after the happy ever after,” Marshall continues. 

“So we looked at their attempts to become parents in their 40s and followed their IVF journey. 

“But we had to keep a non-mawkish hat on. We didn’t want them to breeze through IVF and suddenly, here comes a brand-new life into the world. Because real life often isn’t like that. A lot of people spend a lot of money on IVF and it comes to nothing. 

“So we wanted to represent that in a way that didn’t do a disservice to anyone who has been on that journey. It was important to represent them. We ended the first series with them asking, can we just be a team by ourselves?”

Bretton agrees. “I really like the way that the show didn’t end that with the happily ever after. They had to dismantle their vision of how they thought the future would look.”

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‘It felt grown-up and surprising’

When deciding to focus on the personal as well as the police procedural, Beyond Paradise’s producers were dead set on creating turbulence for the central couple. But, in a radical move for a detective drama, they chose not to create cracks in their relationship. Even the last-minute cancellation of their wedding in the 2024 series finale did not dent their bond – they simply chose to focus on fostering Ryan instead.

“The easiest thing to do is to put a wedge between people, split them up, have affairs,” says producer Tim Key. “It’d be easier if Humphrey was an alcoholic with issues from the past. But we wanted this healthy, happy relationship running through the spine of the show. Then, when life throws them a curveball, how do they deal with that?

“The idea that we could tell this story with them and get to a point where Martha said, ‘Can we just be a family, the two of us? We’re as much of a family as anyone else,’ felt really grown-up and surprising. It’s funny and sad and messy and joyful. We told a story that had resonance and truth to it and affects a lot of people, but almost hid it within a show people wouldn’t expect it from.” 

Bretton also enjoys adding an element of surprise to the detective show. 

“Fostering came out of nowhere,” she says. “It took them by surprise. But they do have a lot of love for each other. They have a lot of love to give. And they are a naturally caring couple. So it gives them somewhere to put that emotion and to be needed in the way they dreamt of, while also providing a place where a child can drop their shoulders for a while and feel safe.

“We see more of them as people than in Death in Paradise. And Humphrey is beloved. So we can pull on the heartstring, but won’t always wrap it up neatly in the way you would expect.”

‘Our foster kids are superstars’

By the time of the 2024 Christmas special, Humphrey and Martha were fostering teenager Jaiden – who presented new challenges – for the festive season.

To get these stories right, the Beyond Paradise producers initially worked alongside the Fostering Network. In the latest series, as Humphrey and Martha welcome young Rosie (Bella Rei Blue Stevenson), the team spoke regularly with real-life social worker Rhona Scott from Devon County Council to get the conversations as authentic as possible.

“I’m always thrilled that a show as big as this will deal with fostering and do it so well,” says Scott. “I’m such an advocate of fostering, and our kids are superstars. They are just amazing as they deal with difficult family situations. Having it represented in an authentic way is so important. I was really impressed.

“I bombarded them with information, sent them reports and a paper developed by care experienced adults and children about the language we use. And I spoke about moments Humphrey and Martha might need to let their social worker know about certain things, to keep it authentic.”

Towards the end of the 2025 series opener, when Hannah tells Humphrey and Martha about young Rosie, whose mother has been arrested, and says: “You are exactly what she needs right now,” it hits hard. Because we know what they have been through. We have all this shared history with the characters. 

And we know how much they have wanted to be needed in this way. It serves to remind viewers of the importance of foster carers and the urgency of the care they provide, but also of the potential rewards. 

“I have personal experience – secondhand, I suppose – because my late mum fostered quite a bit before she had me and my sister,” Marshall says. 

“She’s not around any more, but I grew up with all the anecdotes and stories. It was important for us making the show that Humphrey and Martha’s first placement wasn’t perfect. And to show that fostering is temporary by its nature. 

“Now we see them with a longer placement and that brings its own issues. Those parental feelings bleed into you by a process of osmosis. You also have to deal with the fact that at any moment, the reality that this can be taken away from you is a phonecall away.”

Bretton takes up the story: “We show the mad juggle of looking after small people when you also work. We see that when you are doing the school run, sorting out play dates, and you are in the thick of it, parenting is very minute-to-minute, isn’t it?” she says. 

“So even if their brain knows it’s transient, they’re in the thick of it – while trying not to overstep with the child, be too over-familiar too early, whilst also trying to be warm. All that is going around their heads all the time.” 

Marshall says the storylines have filled him with even more admiration for people like his late mother who open their homes and hearts to young people. 

“I am in constant awe of people who decide that’s a role they want to fulfil in society,” he says. “I hope we are showing a full gamut of different fostering placements. And each of these young people has experienced some trauma, which will present challenges. But I did my first ever convention last year. And to meet people who have genuinely been moved and feel represented by what is a pretty mainstream show – I was enlightened, humbled and touched.”

For Key, this gets to the heart of why one of the biggest feelgood primetime crime capers is taking on such a complex issue – and is in it for the long term. 

“We guarantee that the audience will get the puzzle, they will get the fun, they will get the heart and optimism, and they’ll get the solution. The crime will be solved. There will also be comedic and emotional moments. So we work very hard to deliver all of that,” he says. 

“But if we do that, we know the audience will trust us to go, ‘come with us over here as well, because we’re also talking about fostering.’

“As storytellers, that’s really inspiring. We are not tub-thumping. But within this entertainment show, we can celebrate and shine a light on foster carers because it is the most remarkable thing that people do.”

Beyond Paradise is one BBC One on Fridays at 9pm

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