Beyond Paradise's Kris Marshall reveals DI Humphrey inspiration after 10 years
Beyond Paradise favourite Kris Marshall has revealed the inspiration behind his character of the hit BBC series - recognise any of these big names?
Marshall has been playing the role of DI Humphrey Goodman for the last decade but has admitted he still hasn't worked out what exactly makes the character a great detective.
However, Beyond Paradise fans might not know that the Shipton Abbott resident is inspired by some of the detectives Marshall grew up watching on television.
Settling down to work on Monday morning like... #DeathInParadise pic.twitter.com/uGFAHoda7O
— Death in Paradise (@deathinparadise) March 17, 2025
Ahead of the Death in Paradise spin-off returning later this month, the 51-year-old told PA news agency that DI Humphrey is 'gleaned from a love of all the detectives I grew up with'.
He added: 'Columbo, Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, there's a bit of Harold Lloyd in there.
'There's Barnaby Jones and I put in little homages to them all the time. Marple even, Miss Marple.'
Also speaking about his character, Marshall explained: 'I think, well, his M.O. really is that he's morally quite a good guy. So that's a good foundation for him to start from. He's not without his foibles, but I think what I particularly love about him and find intriguing, is that he is both disarming whilst being armed.
'I still haven't worked out – since the time I've been on Death in Paradise – whether it's an affectation or whether it's something he just does. So whether it's something he does on purpose or not, I don't know. I still haven't worked it out. And I've been playing the character for 10 years.'
The actor, known for playing Nick Harper in the BBC sitcom My Family continued: 'But he comes in and basically presents himself as a bit of an idiot, or someone who doesn't really know what he's doing, and that's obvious in the first episode (of the new series), with Hugh Dennis' character as well.
'He just presents himself as someone who just obviously doesn't have a clue about what's going on, and then he goes straight for the jugular. The whole time there's this binary code going on behind his eyes, he's on a different level and yet he's dyspraxic.
'I'd like to think that this is something that just happens because I think it would be cynical if it was an affectation. But I kind of almost like not solving that in my own head. I like to sort of leave it out there a bit and see.'
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Series three of Beyond Paradise begins on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday, March 28.
Just some of the guest stars set to appear alongside Marshall and Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd include Hugh Dennis and Caroline Quentin.
Are you looking forward to the new series of Beyond Paradise? Let us know in the comments below.
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