As Beyond Paradise is now in its fourth series, I had to jump on the bandwagon and see what all the fuss is about.
For the past three years, millions of fans have tuned in to watch Beyond Paradise, and I don’t blame them.
As a lover of ‘whodunnits’ and crime series, it is astonishing to me that I have never fully watched the first episode of the hit BBC One show.
I already know who the cast are, what the premise of the series is, and what to expect – I mean, I have seen various clips of the show, I just haven’t watched it from the beginning. So the perfect time has come to see what all the fuss is about and pay full attention to season one, episode one of Beyond Paradise.
Within moments of the opening scene, calming music played over shots of the stunning beach, soothing my soul. The introduction immediately gave a vibe of familiarity and cosiness, and I’m sure I had visited that coastal town before, which triggered a bit of enthusiasm and nostalgia for the show.
Obviously, I was lured into a false sense of security as rock music soon played over a police chase, reminding me of a less urban version of The Bill.
Humphrey (Kris Marshall) and Martha (Sally Bretton) were heartwarming fan favourites from their time on Death in Paradise, and the spin-off catches up with them seven years later.
The happy couple are engaged and starting a new life in Shipton Abbott, a coastal Devon town, filmed in Looe, Cornwall, where the biggest scandal is a well-meaning thief who has forgotten his girlfriend’s birthday.
Humphrey is introduced by dangling from a tree and immediately implies that he is ready for a content, quiet life, solving self-contained cases at the local police station, while Martha wants to run a café.
All seemed well, as the couple’s dream of having a baby was finally coming true after several failed rounds of IVF. As they approach their first scan date, Humphrey is ready to tell the family, but a hesitant Martha isn’t so sure.
The sub-plot was mysterious, involving a woman who was thrown off a balcony within her home, and she blamed a creepy ghost for the crime.
Seeing Davood Ghadami play the role of sneery Ben Tyler was a delightful surprise; still not over the actor being killed off in EastEnders (can he return from the dead?).
Within minutes of the investigation, I started to ask myself who, what, and where, as though I had slipped into Humphrey and Esther’s (Zahra Ahmadi) shoes, trying to solve the attempted murder case myself – and quite badly.
So when the time came for Humphrey to break down the events of the night in question, I felt excited; it was visually pleasing, I’d even go as far as to say cinematic TV. Although I’m not afraid to confess that I wasn’t even close to solving the mystery, but it was fun trying nevertheless.
Sadly, the final moments of the episode confirmed Martha’s biggest fears, leaving Humphrey unable to do anything but hold his wife-to-be as she mourned another heartbreaking miscarriage.
The couple wrapped their arms around each other and cried, and the unexpected seriousness of the scene provided a much-needed contrast to the humour and crime, while shining a light on miscarriage and fertility. It left me rather taken aback.
I was already rooting for their dreams of a family, yet I’d only known them for 55 minutes. After I watched the first episode, I can confirm I am hooked.
Beyond Paradise airs Friday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer
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