WARNING: As Beyond Paradise is a spin-off from Death in Paradise starring one of the protagonists of that show, these sheets contain marked and unmarked spoilers for its parent show.
The Paradise franchise:
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Regular Characters
Humphrey Goodman
Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman
Played by: Kris Marshall
A clumsy and absent-minded British inspector who is assigned to Saint Marie after the murder of D.I. Richard Poole at the start of Series 3 of Death in Paradise. Shortly after his arrival, Goodman's wife, Sally, announced she would not be joining him and had filed for divorce. He embraced Caribbean life more than Poole did, dressing casually when off-duty and regularly enjoying alcohol at Catherine's bar.
He eventually leaves Saint Marie having found love again with Martha Lloyd, an acquaintance he reconnects with on the island and they eventually move to Shipton-Upon-Abbott, near Devon.
- Agent Mulder: Humphrey is willing to at least humour the thought that paranormal and supernatural forces are at play in his cases while still looking into more mundane solutions.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Humphrey slowly develops a crush on Camille during Season 3 of Death in Paradise, admitting to Fidel in the finale that he thinks he's in love with her. Several times in season 4 he clearly is thinking in regards to it, mentioning in the second episode that there's few things as painful as standing by while the person you love is happy with someone else.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Beyond Paradise explains why Humphrey takes notes with loose pieces of paper: he has trouble retaining information in a linear fashion and needs to be able to shuffle things around so it all makes sense to him.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Part of why he falls for Camille stems from her willingness to help him work through his more socially awkward moments.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He stumbles with his words and is constantly getting himself in trouble but he's also able to solve murders that perplex everybody else on the island.
- Big Eater: Humph's slender figure belies an epic love of food. He snacks on biscuits through case deliberations, wards off hangovers with an extra-large full English breakfast, and serves his favourite recipes to the rest of the team. When served Catherine's special chicken stew, he can't hold himself back long enough to get a bowl and just starts eating it from the pot.
- Contrasting Replacement Character: Unlike Poole, Humphrey wants to be on Saint Marie. Humphrey is also much more relaxed in personality and dress sense in contrast to the astoundingly stuffy Poole. He's also far more social, going out drinking with the crew and trying to organise movie nights in Season 4 when he learns Camille hasn't seen most of the classic horror films, even considering joining several local societies. Nothing sets Humphrey apart from Poole more sharply, however, than Catherine asking Goodman during their first meeting if he'd like tea. Humphrey laughs off the suggestion given the temperature as ridiculous.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: Inverted. He usually has a pen, but never actually brings a notebook with him. He just writes on any scrap of paper he can find lying around or in his pockets, such as receipts, menus, sweet wrappers, his own hand, etc. In one episode, he even buys postcards at a gift shop just so he has something to take notes.
- Played straight in one episode when he actually thinks to bring a proper notepad to a crime scene... only to realize that he's forgotten his pen.
- Comes up in the spin-off Beyond Paradise; Humphrey receives a notebook from Esther, but despite initially appreciating the gift he soon realises that he finds it easier to process his notes when they're spread out at random and he can shuffle them around like with his usual methods.
- Defective Detective: Downplayed. He's clumsy and awkward and says police work is the only thing he's good at, but he's just a little odd rather than outright defective.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Humphrey has "Humpty Dumpty" because when he was a chubby child, he once fell off a wall and injured his head.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- In his first appearance on Death in Paradise, he arrives at the police station, struggling with his luggage and dropping his newspaper into a puddle, makes nervous small talk with the team... and then, sensing that it would be upsetting for him to immediately claim Richard's vacant desk, sits himself down at an unused one. This establishes him as awkward and clumsy, but also thoughtful and empathetic.
- When he is reintroduced in Beyond Paradise (2023), he is introduced stuck in a tree, having gotten tangled during a paragliding lesson and accidentally ejecting his instructor, reinforcing that he is still the cheerful, but clumsy character he was in Death in Paradise. Then he conducts an interrogation and immediately guesses the suspects motives before easing out a confession by striking a deal, showing that he has razor-sharp intuition and prefers policing with a light touch.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Following in Poole's footsteps.
- Fish out of Water: Of a different sort to Poole: He's also in a totally different land to the one he's used to, but he at least tries to adjust, and gradually improves.
- Happily Married: Both he and the audience think this until the end of his debut episode...
- The Klutz: Although perfectly competent at solving crimes, Goodman is constantly knocking over potted plants, trying to lean on wheeled tables, and losing his poise in the middle of a summation due to his own clumsiness. In his very first episode, he fell out of a window. He always seems to bounce back from the damage to his dignity, however, and simply continues on with whatever he was doing.
- Large Ham: Gradually becomes one. In his first appearance, "Death of a Detective", he is initially hesitant about giving The Summation to a room full of the assembled suspects, but Camille persuades him that that is how Poole did it. After solving his second case, in "The Wrong Man", he asks Camille to repeat the scene, since "I rather enjoyed that." In the Season Four finale, "Unlike Father, Unlike Son", he plays it up to the maximum, since his Disapproving Dad is in the audience and The Summation is being delivered in, well, a courtroom.
- Names to Trust Immediately: Humphrey Goodman is, indeed, a good man - principled, kind, and attentive to others' needs.
- Nice Guy: Humphrey is a kind-hearted soul who looks out for his colleagues and tries to remain optimistic in the most dire situations.
- No Social Skills: While far kinder than Poole, he can occasionally blunder into an issue verbally.
- Put on a Bus: He decides to return to England to build a new life with Martha, his second love.
- Sad Clown: Humphrey hides a lot of his misery over his wife leaving him and his feelings regarding his father with big smiles and jokes.
- Ship Tease: Has a fair amount with DS Camille Bordey and they share a kiss before she leaves for Paris. A few seasons later he reconnects with old flame Martha Lloyd and eventually departs the show entirely to be with her in London when they get a Relationship Upgrade.
- Supreme Chef: He is a talented cook and his coworkers love what he makes. When he remembers to turn on his oven, that is.
- The Un-Favourite: Goodman at one point describes his childhood as being the youngest and the one the joke was always on, though he never really understood what the joke was in the first place. It's strongly hinted that his parents and siblings didn't have much time for him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Due to his father not thinking much of his police career. In fact, his father actively tries to sabotage his career during a visit in Saint Marie at the end of the fourth season. Humphrey relates with a suspect during a Season 3 case due to them both being this, with Humphrey recalling how when he passed the exams to become an officer and made a copy of his certificate for his father to hang up in the living room (alongside his two brothers' certificates for graduating Oxford), his father put it in the bathroom. When Camille asks if he was lying, Humphrey admits to a small exaggeration... in that his father put it in the guest bathroom.
- What You Are in the Dark: During Camille's last episode, Humphrey is told by Commissioner Patterson that Humphrey ultimately has final say on whether or not Camille can take the position in France, presenting him with the permission sheet. Patterson notes that if Humphrey rejects, all Camille will be told is that the offer was rescinded. Humphrey, despite his crush on Camille, immediately refuses to consider the possibility, which Patterson approves of, handing him the sheet.
- Wild Man: At least, compared to Poole. He is more unkempt, does much more sniffing of clues, etc.
Martha Lloyd
Martha Lloyd
Played by: Sally Bretton
Humphrey Goodman's fiancée. They first met when Humphrey worked for the London Met and he began frequenting a sandwich shop she ran. She reconnects with Humphrey when she goes to Saint Marie on holiday and the two embark on a romance. They eventually get engaged and move to hometown of Shipton-upon-Abbott in Devon.- Cloud Cuckoolanders Minder: Because Humphrey often goes on strange tangents in conversation and prone to accidentally break things because he can't help but poke at objects that intrigue him, Martha does her best to keep Humphrey in line at home because her mother often finds his behavior bewildering.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After several failed rounds of IVF, Martha tearfully calls off her engagement because she's unwilling to go through the procedure but knows that Humphrey greatly wants children and believes he'll be happier finding someone who'll want to keep trying. Ultimately Humphrey assures her that he would regret losing her more than he would regret not having children, and they make plans to adopt.
- The Missus and the Ex: Returning to Shipton-Upon-Abbot brings Martha back in acquaintance with Archie, her ex-fiancé. They end up forming a business partnership in her fledgling café, leading to awkward encounters between Humphrey and Archie. Eventually Martha buys out Archie's share of the café so that she doesn't have to deal with him after this.
Esther Williams
Detective Sergeant Esther Williams
Played by: Zahra Ahmadi
Humphrey's Number Two at the Shipton-upon-Abbott police station.- Agent Scully: She always takes a rational approach to her cases while Humphrey is more willing to humour supernatural causes.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Esther loves to tease Zoe, her teenaged daughter, who finds her quips and puns mortifying.
- Cloud Cuckoolanders Minder: She takes over from Camille Bordey and Florence Cassell in making sure Humphrey's idiosyncracies don't go overboard while they're on cases.
Kelby Hartford
Police Constable Kelby Hartford
Played by: Dylan Llewellyn
The sole uniformed officer in Shipton-upon-Abbott, who is frustrated because he wants action-film danger but has to make do with low-stakes local incidents.- Cowboy Cop: Kelby sees himself as a swashbuckling hero and wants an action-packed career. However, he serves in a small local station covering a sleepy seaside village.
- Establishing Character Moment: Kelby is introduced doggedly running after a local crook, even commandeering a boat to cross the harbor, showing his enthusiasm for crimefighting.
Margo Martins
Margo Martins
Played by: Felicity Montagu
The police station's office administrator.- Expansion Pack Past: Margo lets out small drips about her past — which includes globe-trotting escapades, elopements, mysterious tattoos, and strange hobbies — but says that she'll never give out the full details about any of her experiences.
