Beyond Paradise, series 3, episode 1, review: as relaxing as a mini-break in Devon and Cornwall

Telegraph

28-03-2025

Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes I like to stick to the television schedules. Some programmes are just suited to their time slot. Beyond Paradise (BBC One) is perfect Friday night viewing. You've had a long week, you feel a bit frazzled, and you just want to wind down with some escapist TV that feels as relaxing as a mini-break in Devon and Cornwall (minus the hours spent on the M5).
The Death in Paradise spin-off has returned for a third series with a gem of an episode. All the required elements are here: Kris Marshall being endearingly klutzy but impressively clever, a guest star – Hugh Dennis in this case – and a perfect mystery of the week.
It begins with Dennis reporting that his partner has just driven off into the night, drunk, after an argument. We see the car crash through a gate and end up in the river. The Tamar marks the border between Devon and Cornwall, which means that two police forces are vying to investigate. DI Humphrey Goodman (Marshall) and his sidekick have to deal with a pair of supercilious rival detectives, DI Tremayne and DS Foster, who dismiss the case out of hand. 'Call me old-fashioned,' says Tremayne (the always funny Steve Oram), 'but when I see a car spun off the road by a drunk driver parked in a river, I tend to think 'accident'. Unless you're suggesting he wanted to park there?'
Toxicology reports show that the victim was definitely over the limit, there is CCTV of him driving the car at speed, and the cause of death was drowning. But Goodman knows something is amiss when he spots that the deceased is wearing odd socks. The solution to the mystery was both ingenious and ridiculous in the best possible way.
Tremayne and Foster deliver most of the comedy, practising their Duolingo Spanish (badly) and engaging in an amusing face-off over scones – jam or cream first? Dylan Llewellyn provides support as the sweet-natured PC Kelby. On the domestic front, Humphrey's suave love rival, Archie, is back on the scene, but it's very good-natured.
It is all so enjoyably light that Death In Paradise, which follows in a BBC One double bill, seems like Mean Streets by comparison. Beyond Paradise was the biggest new drama launch of 2023 and the second series was one of the BBC's top-rated shows. It's not hard to see why. It's fun, comforting and fills that Doc Martin-shaped hole in your life.