Kris Marshall set for return to Death In Paradise island in spin-off show

Kris Marshall will make a surprise visit to the fictional island of Saint Marie during the finale of his spin-off show, the BBC has announced.

The actor, 49, played Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman over three series of Death In Paradise between 2014 and 2017.

He left the Caribbean island after falling in love with tourist Martha Lloyd, whom he followed to England.

Now engaged, the couple moved to her not-so-sleepy home town of Shipton Abbott on the Devon coast, where he joins the police in solving crimes in six-part Beyond Paradise, which began airing in February.

In the new show, Goodman and Martha, played by Not Going Out’s Sally Bretton, have been trying to have a child and their future as a couple has looked in jeopardy.

Their struggles appeared to increase in the fifth episode of the series on Friday with the show teasing that Goodman will consider his future.

Marshall, also known for My Family, said: “I was honoured and delighted to return to (filming on) Guadeloupe as part of Humphrey’s journey in Beyond Paradise, and to rekindle my deep passion for the island.”

In the final episode on Friday, April 7 the Shipton Abbott police team, which includes Derry Girls actor Dylan Llewellyn as Pc Kelby Hartford, are faced with a “seemingly impossible case to crack”.

Comedian Spencer Jones, known for Upstart Crow, also appears as criminal Atticus Styles, who matches a thief’s unusual calling card.

However, the forensic evidence instead points to Hayley Collins, played by Boiling Point actress Hannah Traylen.

Marshall was replaced as the detective inspector in Death In Paradise by Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon, who then saw The Royle Family’s Ralf Little take over the role.

In the last episode of the twelfth series of the show, aired in February, Little as Detective Inspector Neville Parker weighed up his decision on whether to stay in Saint Marie before appearing to remain on the island.