View across Looe harbour towards the bridge
Coastal CluesSeries 3, Episode 1
Series 3 · Episode 1

A body on a county boundary

A body found in a river sparks an awkward boundary dispute between police teams. Humphrey and Esther protect the evidence while rivalry complicates the case.

  • 28 March 2025
  • Broadcast date and broad premise checked; no solution is published.
Last verified 27 August 2026

Spoiler-free case notes

A body found in a river sparks an awkward boundary dispute between police teams. Humphrey and Esther protect the evidence while rivalry complicates the case.

No ending spoilers: this guide never names the killer, explains the solution or reveals the final deduction.

Episode facts and production credits

SeriesSeries 3
Episode1 of 6
First UK broadcast28 March 2025
Approximate runtime58 minutes
Mystery formatA body on a county boundary
BroadcasterBBC One
Production companyRed Planet Pictures
WriterAwaiting end-credit verification
DirectorAwaiting end-credit verification
ProducerSeries production credit awaiting episode-level check

Unverified names are deliberately left blank rather than copied from an unsourced list.

What makes this case distinctive

The episode is built as a fair-play television puzzle: an arresting opening problem, conflicting accounts and a chain of physical details that gradually becomes more useful than first impressions.

Why watch this episode?

A useful series opener: it re-establishes the ensemble while introducing a body on a county boundary as a self-contained case.

Regular cast

The continuing Shipton Abbott ensemble is listed separately from actors appearing for this case.

Photograph of Kris Marshall, who plays DI Humphrey Goodman
DI Humphrey Goodman

Kris Marshall

An English actor known for comedy and drama, Marshall first played Humphrey Goodman in Death in Paradise before leading Beyond Paradise.

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Photograph of Sally Bretton, who plays Martha Lloyd
Martha Lloyd

Sally Bretton

An English actor whose television work includes Martha Lloyd in the Paradise dramas and Lucy Adams in the long-running comedy Not Going Out.

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Photograph of Zahra Ahmadi, who plays DS Esther Williams
DS Esther Williams

Zahra Ahmadi

A British actor whose screen work spans drama and comedy, including Esther Williams in Beyond Paradise and roles in The Bay and EastEnders.

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Photograph of Dylan Llewellyn, who plays PC Kelby Hartford
PC Kelby Hartford

Dylan Llewellyn

A British actor known for ensemble comedy and drama, including PC Kelby Hartford in Beyond Paradise, James Maguire in Derry Girls and Jack in Big Boys.

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Photograph of Felicity Montagu, who plays Margo Martins
Margo Martins

Felicity Montagu

An English actor with extensive television, film and theatre work, including Margo Martins in Beyond Paradise and Lynn Benfield in the Alan Partridge comedies.

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Photograph of Barbara Flynn, who plays Anne Lloyd
Anne Lloyd

Barbara Flynn

An English actor whose long television career includes Anne Lloyd in Beyond Paradise and prominent roles in Cracker, The Beiderbecke Trilogy and Cranford.

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Photograph of Jamie Bamber, who plays Archie Hughes
Archie Hughes

Jamie Bamber

A British-American actor whose television work includes Archie Hughes in Beyond Paradise, Lee Adama in Battlestar Galactica and Matt Devlin in Law & Order: UK.

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Guest stars

These episode-specific credits are kept apart from the continuing cast.

Guest cast and role names are sourced from published episode-credit records. Each internal profile keeps the credit, source and related case files together.

Trivia and things to notice

  • This is regular episode 1 of Series 3.
  • Looe and the featured filming locations are in Cornwall; on screen they represent Shipton Abbott, a fictional town described as being in Devon.

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Regional landscape

Tamar Valley

The Tamar Valley supplies riverside, rural and boating landscapes used by the production, including verified Pentillie locations.

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Private riverside estate

Pentillie Estate and Quay Cottage

Pentillie's riverside cottage, quay and estate landscapes have represented important family and houseboat settings.

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Verification boundary: these are relevant production-area guides, not a claim that every scene in this episode used each location.

Sources and further reading

The case description is an original spoiler-safe summary prepared for Coastal Clues.

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Previous regular episode

Series 2, Episode 6

The theft of a valuable museum object overlaps with a cybercrime investigation and the pressures surrounding a wedding.

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Next regular episode

Series 3, Episode 2

A series of threatening texts raises questions about identity, access and how much a sender can know. The team follows the digital trail.

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