DI Humphrey Goodman: Beyond Paradise & Death in Paradise Guide

Who is DI Humphrey Goodman? A perceptive investigator whose untidy presentation masks a precise eye for contradictions. Beyond Paradise follows Humphrey after his Saint Marie years as he makes a home and a working life in Shipton Abbott. Humphrey is played by Kris Marshall and first appeared in Death in Paradise.

Humphrey in Death in Paradise

Humphrey Goodman arrived in Death in Paradise at the start of Series 3, first seen in the episode 'Death of a Detective' on 14 January 2014.

He was flown out from London to Saint Marie after the murder of DI Richard Poole (Ben Miller). Using leads Poole had left behind, he cracked the case, joking that his predecessor had effectively solved his own murder.

Roughly three years on screen, from Series 3 (2014) through to Series 6, Episode 6 (9 February 2017). He chose to stay on the island after his wife Sally refused to join him, and the couple later divorced. Over that time he was romantically drawn to DS Camille Bordey, who left in Series 4 shortly after the two shared a kiss.

Martha Lloyd, a woman he had known from a London shop he used to visit, turned up on Saint Marie at the end of Series 5 and the pair began a relationship. When she went back to London for a restaurant job, they drifted apart, until a two-part case ('Man Overboard', February 2017) took Humphrey to England. There the couple reconciled and he resigned so he could stay in London with her.

DI Jack Mooney (Ardal O'Hanlon), the team's London liaison during the 'Man Overboard' case and a recent widower, was put forward by Humphrey and took over on Saint Marie.

Returns and crossovers

Beyond Paradise Series 1, Episode 6 (7 April 2023): Humphrey takes a break on Saint Marie, finds his old lizard friend Harry on the shack's porch, and meets DI Neville Parker's team plus Commissioner Patterson and Catherine Bordey.
Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2025 (21 December 2025): Don Warrington's Commissioner Selwyn Patterson comes to Shipton Abbott as a surprise best man at Humphrey and Martha's wedding.
No source found records Humphrey appearing in a regular Death in Paradise episode since 2017, including Series 13-15 or the Death in Paradise 2025 Christmas special (28 December 2025).

See every Death in Paradise connection →

Humphrey in Beyond Paradise, series by series

Each series moves Humphrey’s personal story on. Open a series below — these notes cover character arcs only and never reveal who did it in any case.

Series 1 (2023)

Humphrey swaps the Caribbean for Martha's Devon home town of Shipton Abbott and joins its small, under-threat police station alongside DS Esther Williams, PC Kelby Hartford and Margo Martins. At home he and Martha are engaged and hoping for a baby through IVF; after a miscarriage, he buys a houseboat without talking it through, putting a strain on money and on the relationship. With the engagement in trouble he retreats to Saint Marie, where Martha follows him and they reunite.

Christmas special 2023

A run of odd festive break-ins, a shoplifter for Kelby to babysit and pressure from Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods over the station's future, while Martha takes an interest in a boy in difficulty.

Series 2 (2024)

Humphrey and Martha apply to become foster carers, sitting interviews with social worker Hannah Owen and swapping the houseboat for Anne's cottage while Anne moves aboard. Anne's ever-growing wedding plans push the couple to the brink, and the series ends with a called-off ceremony replaced by an informal 'non-wedding' on the beach. A review concludes the station will stay open.

Christmas special 2024

The couple foster a teenager, Jaiden, over Christmas, and Humphrey investigates what appears to be a ghost haunting a family friend of Anne's.

Series 3 (2025)

Humphrey works a cross-border case with Cornish officers, and he and Martha welcome their first longer-term foster child, Rosie, who starts at Shipton Abbott Primary. The series is about learning to parent, and it ends with Rosie going back to her mother, leaving the couple heartbroken but proud.

Christmas special 2025

Humphrey and Martha finally marry. Commissioner Selwyn Patterson flies in as a surprise best man, while the team also deals with an elderly man carrying a photo of Humphrey and a prankster's victim stuck in a snowman costume.

Series 4 (2026)

Now married, the couple lose the Lily Bond houseboat when it drifts off and move back in with Anne. A new boss, Chief Superintendent James Smith (Vincent Franklin), demands cuts and tells Humphrey to choose who goes. Humphrey offers his own job instead, but is reinstated once the team's budget is restored. He sells the houseboat to fund work on the family home and commits to a settled life in Shipton Abbott.

Series 5

Commissioned for broadcast in 2027; storylines not yet announced (see 'series').

Personality and detective methods

Endearingly awkward and accident-prone: he trips, fumbles and stammers his way through scenes, a style one critic likened to a Hugh Grant impression.
Chronically disorganised: in Saint Marie he was famous for forgetting things and never having anything to write on, and the crumpled-jacket image carried over to Devon.
A lateral thinker who notices tiny, odd details others ignore, then lays the whole solution out, Death in Paradise-style, in a final reveal.
Warm, romantic and emotionally open, which makes him a supportive boss: Esther starts out baffled by his methods and comes to trust them.
Prone to impulsive grand gestures, such as buying a houseboat without consulting Martha.
Loyal to his team to the point of offering up his own job to save theirs in Series 4.

Relationships

Martha Lloyd — partner and central family relationship
Esther Williams — detective partnership
Anne Lloyd — family
Shipton Abbott police team — colleagues

Humphrey: questions fans ask

Who plays DI Humphrey Goodman?

Humphrey is played by Kris Marshall, the actor many viewers also know from Love Actually and the BT adverts. He first played Humphrey in Death in Paradise from 2014 to 2017, then returned to the role in 2023 as the lead of the spin-off Beyond Paradise. He is also listed among the show's executive producers.

When did Humphrey leave Death in Paradise?

Humphrey's last regular episode was Series 6, Episode 6, 'Man Overboard - Part Two', shown on 9 February 2017. A case brought him back to London, where he and Martha Lloyd patched things up, and he resigned so he could stay with her. DI Jack Mooney, played by Ardal O'Hanlon, took over on Saint Marie.

Why did Kris Marshall leave Death in Paradise?

Kris Marshall has said he stepped away for family reasons: Death in Paradise films for months at a time in Guadeloupe, a long way from home. On screen, the character left for love, choosing a life in London with Martha Lloyd, which set up the move to Shipton Abbott in Beyond Paradise.

Is Humphrey Goodman in Death in Paradise again?

Not as a regular. The two shows have crossed over instead: in the Beyond Paradise Series 1 finale (April 2023) Humphrey takes a break on Saint Marie and meets Neville Parker's team, and in the 2025 Beyond Paradise Christmas special Commissioner Patterson comes to Devon for his wedding. No regular Death in Paradise return had been announced as of October 2026.

Are Humphrey and Martha married?

Yes, eventually. Their Series 2 wedding fell apart and became an informal 'non-wedding' on the beach, and Series 3 went by without a ceremony. They finally married in the Beyond Paradise Christmas special broadcast on 21 December 2025, with Commissioner Selwyn Patterson as a surprise best man, and Series 4 follows them as newlyweds.

Where does Humphrey live in Beyond Paradise?

At first he and Martha live with her mother Anne, then Humphrey buys a houseboat, the Lily Bond. In Series 2 they swap homes with Anne, and the houseboat is home again during Series 3. When the Lily Bond drifts off early in Series 4 they move back into Anne's cottage, and he later sells the boat to fund work on the house.

Who replaced Humphrey in Death in Paradise?

DI Jack Mooney, played by Ardal O'Hanlon, replaced him. Mooney first met the team as their London contact during the two-part 'Man Overboard' story in 2017, then went to Saint Marie as a temporary stand-in and stayed on. He led the team until the end of Series 9, when Ralf Little's DI Neville Parker took over.

How did Humphrey arrive on Saint Marie?

He was sent from London at the start of Series 3 in January 2014 to investigate the murder of his predecessor, DI Richard Poole. Following clues Poole had left behind, Humphrey solved the case, then accepted the job permanently, partly because his marriage back home was already falling apart.

DI Humphrey Goodman