Beyond Paradise star Kris Marshall reveals which TV detectives helped inspire Humphrey – and that he’s only watched Love Actually once

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What’s the view from your sofa?

I enjoy documentaries and sports, but after spending months working on a movie, I definitely don’t want to watch anything about filmmaking! It’s hard for me to fully get lost in a story, so I don’t really binge-watch shows – which my wife isn’t too happy about.

Because she wants to watch Game of Thrones?

I’ve never watched Game of Thrones, and we missed out on Adolescence too. Honestly, I find real life to be the most compelling drama.

What’s so special about sport?

I don’t usually cry, but sports always get to me. It’s probably because everything happens so quickly, and the stakes feel genuinely high. I especially love rooting for the underdog – sports often feel like a classic battle between David and Goliath.

Which documentaries do you like?

Stories of people challenging nature are captivating. A prime example is Free Solo, a film documenting Alex Honnold’s incredible ropeless climb of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot rock formation in Yosemite. He also recently climbed the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 in Taiwan, featured in the Netflix documentary Skyscraper Live. Another excellent film in this vein is The Alpinist, which follows Canadian climber Marc-André Leclerc as he tackles difficult free solo climbs.

So you enjoy watching movies?

As a lifelong movie lover, I have a personal list of films I absolutely adore – a sort of cinematic hall of fame, if you will. It’s always growing, but right now it includes titles like Terms of Endearment, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Apocalypse Now, and Withnail and I. I’m a big fan of Robert Altman’s work too, and more recently, Don’t Look Up really resonated with me. Because I speak French, Jules et Jim was a huge part of my childhood, and I’m a devoted follower of Truffaut and the whole French New Wave movement. I realize as I’m saying all this, it probably sounds a bit highbrow!

I’ve only seen the movie once. We expected it to do well, given the actors and that Richard Curtis directed it, but it’s amazing that it’s become such a well-known part of our culture. This morning on the radio, I heard them talking about Keir Starmer not allowing Donald Trump to use British air bases, and they jokingly wondered if this was Starmer’s equivalent of a scene from our film! It’s incredible to think we made it almost 25 years ago.

Have your children discovered it yet?

At 13 and 10, their children are still too young to learn about their father’s more personal side – specifically, his discussions about condoms. That particular boundary hasn’t been reached yet.

Beyond Paradise is back for a fourth series. Talk us through Humphrey’s detective DNA.

Okay, so I won’t claim I totally built my character by combining my favorite detectives, but yeah, there’s a little bit of Columbo in there, and I was a massive James Garner fan, so Jim Rockford definitely influenced things. I also threw in some Miss Marple, and even a touch of Barnaby Jones, an old American detective I loved. And it’s not just TV – I’ve peppered in little references to some of my favorite films, like Withnail and I. They’re pretty subtle, honestly – you’d probably only notice them if you’re familiar with the movie!

Want to see this content?

Okay, so this website uses a security thing called reCAPTCHA – you know, the one that asks you to pick out all the traffic lights in pictures? They’re letting me know that it’s powered by Google, and before it loads anything, they need my okay. Apparently, it uses cookies and stuff to work, but I can choose to ‘Accept and continue’ if I’m cool with that, and then I’ll be able to see whatever’s behind it. It’s just a heads-up, really.

How do you keep the character and series interesting?

I usually move on from playing a character after about three years, but I’ve been playing Humphrey for thirteen, on and off. That’s a long time for me, so it’s new to keep developing him over such a period. We’re both getting older, and what I really like about Beyond Paradise is that it’s more than just a detective show. It’s definitely a cosy crime drama, but it also has moments of high emotion and humor, and it focuses on the importance of community and family.

Oh, wow, I had no idea! I’m genuinely surprised. It’s like what I always say about the show Death in Paradise – it looks calm and peaceful, but there’s a lot happening underneath the surface.

Beyond Paradise returns on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday 27 March at 8pm.

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Authors

Gareth McLean

For almost three decades, Gareth McLean has been a professional television writer and critic. He’s reviewed countless shows and interviewed a wide range of celebrities, including Liza Minnelli and Jimmy Savile. He’s also worked as a writer creating content for television.

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2026-03-16 20:46