Beyond Paradise copies Death in Paradise as main character to become prime suspect

A key art shot of the Beyond Paradise cast, standing on the quayside in Shipton Abbott (portrayed by the Cornish town of Looe). From left to right: Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams and Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins.

Beyond Paradise is a spin-off from Death in Paradise and the BBC has teased that it's about to follow its sister show by having a main character become a prime suspect.

While the final episode of Death in Paradise season 14 saw DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) briefly become a suspect when a body was found in his shack, Beyond Paradise will see Humphrey's fiancée Martha Lloyd, become a suspect in a spiking case.

Martha (Sally Bretton) will face accusations of poisoning a victim in episode four of the new series. The BBC teases: "It's the final day of the regatta, and rival sailors Francine and Polly are neck-and-neck for the top spot. But just as the race gets under way, disaster strikes: Polly collapses and plunges into the sea, throwing the entire race into chaos.

"When it's discovered that Polly’s smoothie had been tampered with, suspicion starts to grow. All eyes turn to Martha, the seemingly innocent smoothie maker, who now finds herself in the spotlight as an unlikely prime suspect. Martha and Humphrey, already juggling the demands of work and childcare, struggle to stay composed under new pressure.”

Can Humphrey prove Martha is innocent? (Image credit: BBC/Red Planet Pictures)

It's not clear whether the victim is dead or not, but it means Martha is facing very serious accusations either way. Is Beyond Paradise about to throw in the ultimate twist by seeing Humphrey proving his fiancée is a criminal? Could this be the end for the couple?

Or can Kris Marshall's character prove that someone else was behind the attack? Death in Paradise fans will remember that lead characters have faced murder accusations in the show, including Mervin, as mentioned, but also DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little), who was stitched up by his evil girlfriend Sophie.

Neville eventually proved his innocence. Interestingly, in the first ever episode of Death in Paradise one of the leading characters did end up being the killer! DI Richard Poole (Ben Miller)investigated the murder of DI Charlie Hulme (Hugo Speer) and eventually proved that one of his officers, Lily Thomson (Lenora Crichlow), was the killer.

DI Richard Poole talks with Lily Thomson in Death in Paradise season 1 episode 1 (Image credit: BBC)

We suspect that Humphrey will prove that Martha isn't behind the spiking but you never know! It will certainly be a great twist if she turned out to be evil!

Beyond Paradise season 3 continues on Fridays. Episode 4, where Martha is accused, will air on BBC One on Friday, April 18 at 8 pm on BBC One.