“I love Kelby and Esther’s bond”: Zahra Ahmadi and Dylan Llewellyn on Beyond Paradise season four

A spin-off of the long-running Death in Paradise series, Beyond Paradise follows Kris Marshall’s character, Humphrey Goodman, and his wife Martha, as they make a new home in Shipton Abbott, getting to know the local police force. With new characters and a location steeped in English folklore, Beyond Paradise offers a community of loveable individuals and mythological storylines that combine crime investigation with debunking superstitions. With the release of its fourth season, Beyond Paradise offers more magical adventures – including life imitating art, Morris Dancing and mermaids – alongside heartfelt storylines and further development of already established relationships.

Among the new faces initially introduced in Beyond Paradise who have become beloved are the likes of Zahra Ahmadi’s Esther and Dylan Llewellyn’s Kelby, both of whom work in the local police force of Shipton Abbott. Esther’s relationship with her daughter Zoe sees a shift this season, while Kelby has romance on the horizon. The Upcoming caught up with the two actors to discuss the friendship between Esther and Kelby, other relationship dynamics that have changed this season, and exciting new things fans can look forward to in this instalment of Beyond Paradise.

To start, can both of you give us a brief introduction to Beyond Paradise for anyone unfamiliar with this world?

Zahra Ahmadi: Beyond Paradise is set in Shipton Abbott, a small town in Devon. You’ll find yourself getting acquainted with the local police team, of which there are four members. They practice more of a community policing as opposed to a metropolitan one. It’s a very different form of policing; they often know the victims and the suspects of the crime, sometimes personally. It has a lot of heart, and it can also be light-hearted. There’s a real kind of core humour that runs through, and each episode offers a puzzle for the audience to follow along and solve. I think that might summarise it.

Dylan Llewellyn: I think Zahra said it perfectly. The main thing is the heart of it. It has characters with big hearts, and you really care for the characters and the people in that community. It feels just like a really amazing family show.

Speaking of the characters, let’s talk about the ones you play. Where did we leave them last season, and where will we find them this season?

DL: Work-wise, Kelby’s been growing and growing in his work. He’s always been a good officer, but he’s aiming higher – he wants to be working with the big dogs. You see that with Humphrey and Esther, working with them more and more on the big cases. He’s ambitious, which is lovely to see. Then, in his personal life, he’s looking for love. I think people will enjoy this season if they’re interested in that storyline.

ZA: Where we left Esther—where we last saw her—was in the Christmas episode. She was still going about her work, just as well as she always does; she’s very professional, and she takes pride in her work. She sees Archie at the wedding, but she’s keeping it very civilised, very proper, and that’s that. In this season, we start to see her reflect slightly more. She starts to develop her ability to reflect and understand that she’s not always right, and question decisions that she’s made.

How would you say the relationship between your two characters has grown over the course of the three seasons before, and in this season as well? How has that dynamic changed, and how has that stayed the same?

ZA: Esther’s always had Kelby under her wing. She started out in the police force quite young, and she worked her way up. That’s the same with Kelby – he started quite young, and she has always seen the potential in him, and she has always understood that sometimes he’s misunderstood. So, she’s always got his back, really. That’s always been a fairly steady relationship. Although there is stuff that happens in this series where – I don’t want to speak for him, and he can confirm this – Kelby feels a bit judged, particularly by Esther and Margo. There’s a little friction there at certain points of the series. What do you think, Dylan?

DL: Just thinking back to those previous seasons, Esther has never said a bad word about Kelby, and she’s like the big sister vibes for him. They’ve got a lovely bond. I saw a little edit on TikTok of our two characters – our friendship – and it was really sweet. It’s when – I think in Season 1 – that guy with the painting and he’s like, “Is this the finest Shipton Abbott has to offer in looking after my painting?” And Esther’s like, “Yes. Yes, it is.” It’s really cool how she stands up for him. It’s really nice. I love Kelby and Esther’s bond; they have a really good respect for each other.

Are there any other character dynamics that haven’t been fully explored in great depth in the previous three seasons that we’ll see touched on this fourth season?

DL: I think you’ll see different sides to Kelby, being more vulnerable and standing up for himself. You’ll get to see a little bit more of Kelby’s personality this season. Of him as a whole, which is nice to see, especially how he interacts with Margo.

ZA: We see a further development in Esther’s relationship with Martha. That friendship grows even deeper, and Martha’s really looking after Esther at certain points – because Esther has a few difficult moments in this series. I also think there’s a shift in Esther and Zoe’s relationship. You know that point when the child really becomes an adult, and the child recognises that, and the parent recognises that? That’s the point of no return. There’s a shift. I think that’s what happens in this season between Esther and Zoe. These are relationships that have been explored previously, but there are new sides to these relationships.

What do you hope fans can take away from this season? What are you looking forward to them seeing, and what kind of sense of fulfilment do you hope they find in Beyond Paradise?

ZA: We’ve got some really good episodes this season. There’s one that explores a particular form of Morris Dancing called “Dark Morris”, which is really fun, visually stunning and really dramatic and theatrical. That, of course, works its way into the storyline of the episode. We’ve also got one about a mermaid, which is really beautiful – again, visually – and the way the story’s told celebrates old school storytelling as it were. I think people will really like those because they’re entrenched in the geography of the region and the traditions of the region. They’re just really well-executed as well.

DL: Just echoing Zahra, you get transported into that folklore world and history. There’s another story about a treasure map of Shipton Abbott. I just thought it’s like a magical world, in a way. You see how they solve all these crimes whilst all of this is happening. I just think families will really enjoy watching this.

Mae Trumata

Beyond Paradise season four is released on BBC iPlayer on 27^th March 2026.

Watch the trailer for Beyond Paradise season four here: