'Beyond Paradise' Brings Christmas Home for the Holidays

Beyond Paradise may not be celebrating Christmas in the islands (unlike Death in Paradise, which also has a Holiday special set in the sun and the sand), but that doesn't mean the residents of Shipton Abbott, near the Devon coast, aren't going to make their own holiday fun. After all, unlike some parts of the world, they get to have seasons. And, even better, because the Death in Paradise spinoff films in the U.K. instead of on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe (which stands in for the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie), they get to have multiple guest stars turn up for the show's Holiday episode.

The BBC has revealed that Beyond Paradise's first-ever Christmas Special, commissioned along with the show's sophomore season, will feature six guest stars in the one-hour festive episode. Those guest stars include James Fleet, best known for playing Hugo Horton in the beloved The Vicar of Dibley; Sheila Reid, who Americans most recently saw in the Netflix timey-wimey series Bodies; Isaac Vincent-Norgate from PBS favorite Sanditon; Amalia Vitale from Shaun the Sheep; and Kulvinder Ghir of Beecham House will all play significant roles in the Yuletide mystery. Finally, Bellowhead, the band behind the show's music and opening theme tune, will make a cameo in the episode.

There are also rumors that Bellowhead's appearance is because there will be a wedding in need of a band for the Christmas episode. Could the show's central couple finally be tying the knot? Fans will have to wait and see. Until then, here are the special's first look photos.

Here's the synopsis for the Christmas episode:

Kris Marshall returns as DI Humphrey Goodman in a special festive episode of Beyond Paradise. On Christmas Eve, the detectives of Shipton Abbot are tasked with solving a puzzling case involving a series of break-ins and mysterious gifts.

Marshall and Bretton will be joined by their regular series' co-stars, including Zahra Ahmadi (The Bay) as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn (Derry Girls) as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn (The Durrells) as Anne Lloyd, and Felicity Montagu (Tom Jones) as Margo Martins.

Created by Robert Thorogood and Tony Jordan, Beyond Paradise Season 2 is a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International and is produced by Red Planet Pictures. Jordan, who founded Red Planet Pictures, will act as showrunner, with the six-episode season and the Christmas special written and helmed by a full team. Jordan, Tim Key, and Belinda Campbell executive produce for Red Planet Pictures, Danielle Scott-Haughton for BBC, Reemah Sakaan and Stephen Nye for BritBox International. 

The Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2023 streams on BritBox on Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, 2023, along with the debut of Lot No. 249.