“There’s enough hard stuff out there – this is intelligent, kind television”: Barbara Flynn on Beyond Paradise season four

Intriguing and fun with a feel-good soundtrack that lures those watching into a sense of domestic peace, Beyond Paradise, a spin-off of the long-running Death in Paradise series, follows Humphrey Goodman alongside his wife Martha as they live that Shipton Abbott life. As Humphrey takes on the role of DCI, shifts in upper management spark a series of difficult choices for the couple as they now navigate finding a permanent place to live and the trouble brewing with the demands of higher-ups to reduce the police force in Shipton Abbott. Caught between personal life choices, whilst navigating through a series of mysteries, this season begins with drama and fun entertainment for longtime viewers of the show. 

As things change for the familiar couple, characters around them are also reflecting on their own interpersonal drama, with Esther coming to terms with Archie dating again, Kelby looking for romance amidst his efforts to prove himself a capable detective, and Anne becoming a councillor. The Upcoming caught up with Barbara Flynn, who plays Anne, Martha’s mother, over Zoom. She spoke about the show’s magnetic pull on the audience with its charming characters and puzzle pieces to solve. Flynn also discussed some of her favourite moments throughout filming, including reuniting with A Very Peculiar Practice co-star Peter Davison. Finally, she commented on the changes the different characters face this new season and how that will affect all the different relationships at hand.

To start us off, can you please give us an introduction to Beyond Paradise for anyone unfamiliar with this world and are just tuning into this season?

Barbara Flynn: Beyond Paradise is a spin-off from Death in Paradise. Kris Marshall was a policeman out there, and in the story, he met with Sally Brenton’s character called Martha, in London. They went out to the west country of England to be closer to Martha’s mother because her father had just died. That’s what brings them down, and Kris’ character Humphrey gets a job as a DCI. That’s where they’re now living, and that’s where the story takes place.

You have all the glorious countryside of Devon and Cornwall, and you have the quirky, nice country life that isn’t as hard-edged as London. The viewers will get to see a softer type of life. But also, it’s riddled with puzzles that are very bright, with a lot of young writers. It’s so lively and incredibly popular. The warmth that is received by us all is amazing. I’ve worked for a long time in television, and it’s a lovely reaction that I get. It’s charming; it’s that kind of programme where it gives everyone a bit of a puzzle, but it also touches on the things most families would like to talk about, but don’t actually get the opportunity or the ease to discuss those things. That’s really what it is. It’s delightful.

Let’s talk about your character, Anne. Where did we leave her in the last season, and where do we find her in this new one?

It’s been a turning point for her ever since the beginning of the series because she lost her husband. It’s all a bit of an adjustment. About Humphrey and Martha actually living with her – or living in the boat, which is more or less outside her cottage – it’s kind of been an up and down. They’ve fostered, they’ve tried to adopt, they’ve had IVF; they’ve gone through all these wonderful, extraordinarily difficult times that couples go through in this modern world, which of course appeals to other people who’ve gone through similar things. Anne is moving forward. She’s going out; she’s been dating. She had a disastrous dating thing, but there’s lots more fun to be had. There’s a caring relationship – she has always been close to Martha, as the only child. They’ve always had a very close, nice relationship on screen. Everything changes, and it’s not because that [relationship has] changed. It morphs.

At this stage, Humphrey and Martha are very much thinking about moving out, and so that might be on the cards. Anne is gaining ground and becoming a lot stronger and more inventive. She’s maybe not looking for dates anymore in that kind of blunt way of using apps, but just enjoying life, reaching out and trying to contribute something to the community. That’s where we find her. She’s got some funny things happen along the way. She gets to be a bit closer to Humphrey’s work in this series than she has been before because they’ve been family in the police station with the four detectives, and then we have the home family, which is Martha, Humphrey, Anne, Esther and Zoe.

It moves on in a very gentle way. There’s excitement, there’s change, there’s different views, there’s different magnificent scenes with the sun, when we get it, and the sky and the clean air. You can see it on the show. It’s a great thing to be in.

Speaking of Anne getting a little bit closer to Humphrey’s work, does this allow for other relationship dynamics not previously explored in the series that we’ll find touched on in this season?

BF: Oh, yes, because she becomes a councillor, and then she gets allotted. She wants to get into sports and culture, but actually, she gets in somewhere else, which is closer to Humphrey’s work. Humphrey has a conundrum because he has been instructed by the powers that be – a gentleman has come on the scene, and he’s telling him to lose a member of staff. She, as a councillor, is on observation in the police station. This is a completely different viewpoint for Anne because she has known them socially, not terribly closely, but in a gentle, wonderful way. It’s quite an intrusive thing for them to accept her. It’s difficult for some of them to accept her more than others. It’s a learning curve for her, and it eventually all ends up being quite productive. But it’s a rocky road; it’s not a welcome with open arms. Because, after all, they’re doing quite a serious job and they have their way of doing it, and this woman is sort of in the way, really. But Anne is doing her best in trying to be charming. She’s intelligent, and she might save the day, who knows?

Beyond Paradise is interesting in how it mixes mythology and folkloric tales with detective work and logic. It’s a fascinating combination with lots of fantastical things to look forward to. What has been your favourite arc so far involving all of that?

It was very amusing for me personally – and professionally too – to go to the dating series. Because they brought Peter Davison on board, and of course, Peter Davison is our old Doctor Who, who I also met a long, long time ago in a rather raunchy series called A Very Peculiar Practice. I played a very, very raunchy doctor; he played a very, very shy intern who was coming into the medical practice. Of course, I was then the predator, and this time, he turns out to be the horror. It was very enjoyable to revisit that.

It is, in all honesty, enjoyable day-to-day. We have a wonderful team who look after us extremely well, and it’s a very happy set for visitors to come into. We have had some stupendous visitors, and that continues. The whole thing is very productive and forward-looking. I do enjoy that, and I love the air, and it’s a beautiful place to be.

On top of these mysteries and investigations, there’s also a lot of interpersonal drama in Beyond Paradise. How do you, as a show, maintain all that balance between the different aspects of this world and is that a balance we’ll continue to see in this fourth season?

I think so. It’s balanced because they have a lot of plates to keep on the air. They have to keep the stories of all the characters interesting and buzzing. I think that will happen – or maybe it won’t happen. Sometimes, it’s less, and sometimes it’s more. It’s a great family to be a part of, and with families, you never quite know what’s going to happen, do you?

What do you hope fans can take away from this season? What sense of fulfilment do you hope they can find, and is the story going to lead into more adventures to uncover in a potential fifth season?

Fans absolutely love the way the show slowly evolves. They do sense that Humphrey and Martha are on the move and there’s a change, and there’s all this sort of stuff. Whether they will continue fostering, whether they won’t – there are things to be revealed. It’s an ongoing, gentle thing that people just absolutely love. I cannot wait for the next series, and the fans won’t be disappointed. It’s very eclectic! If you list the places we go with the mysteries and the puzzles, and the different elements, it’s quite surprising. Also, everyone can watch! That’s a wonderful thing to have on television. There’s enough hard stuff out there, and this is intelligent, kind television. It’s really beautiful, and there’s a lot to look forward to.

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: