Beyond Paradise - Christmas Special 2025 - 9:00 pm Sunday, December 21 on BBC One London HD

Kris Marshall (Actor) .. DI Humphrey Goodman

Born: April 01, 1973 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Best Known For: Playing dopey Nick Harper in My Family

Early-life: Born in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, on April 1, 1973. He spent some of his childhood in Hong Kong and Canada, and attended Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, from which he was expelled at the age of 17. He puts the incident down to not being able to do things in the confines of school, such as smoke, which he freely did at home. After failing his A levels, he enrolled at Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead.

Career: Marshall's first TV role came in 1993's Closing Numbers. He later had bit parts in shows including The Bill and Trial and Retribution II. Playing gormless Nick in My Family turned him into a star in 2000. He left the sitcom three years later (although he returned to made guest appearances), and went on to appear in Doctor Zhivago, Love Actually, Iris, The Four Feathers and The Merchant of Venice. His first lead role in a TV drama came in 2004 when he was cast as DS Luke Stone in ITV1's Murder City alongside Amanda Donohoe. He's since featured in Citizen Khan, Derek and Lightfields. Marshall also appeared in a popular series of ads for BT between 2005 and 2011. He took over from Ben Miller as the star of Death in Paradise in 2014.

Quote: "I am 6ft 2in with legs like a giraffe and I get fan mail from six-year-olds."

Trivia: In 2008, he suffered head injuries after being hit by a car during a night out with friends in Bristol. He made a full recovery, and credits a card from his favourite football team, Aston Villa, for boosting his morale.

Sally Bretton (Actor) .. Martha Lloyd

Born: April 23, 1980 in Portsmouth

Best Known For: Playing Lucy in the BBC comedy Not Going Out.

Early-life: Sally was born in Portsmouth on April 23, 1980. She made her TV acting debut as a child in the 1987 miniseries Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story. She went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career: Bretton has starred in a number of TV shows, including Sunburn, The Office, Night & Day, Absolute Power, Blessed, and Green Wing, but she is better known for playing Lee Mack's love interest Lucy in the BBC comedy Not Going Out. Her film credits include Outlaw (2007).

Quote: "I tend to take quite heavy roles in the theatre and then muck about on telly."

Trivia: Bretton worked as a drama teacher at the Top Hat Stage and Screen School.

Zahra Ahmadi (Actor) .. DS Esther Williams

Dylan Llewellyn (Actor) .. PC Kelby Hartford

Felicity Montagu (Actor) .. Margo Martins

Barbara Flynn (Actor) .. Anne Lloyd

Melina Sinadinou (Actor) .. Zoe Williams

Jamie Bamber (Actor) .. Archie Hughes

Adrian Edmondson (Actor) .. David Haleton

Born: January 24, 1957 in Bradford

Best Known For: His comedy partnership with Rik Mayall.

Early-life: Adrian Charles Edmondson was born in Bradford on January 24, 1957, the son of a teacher working for the Armed Forces. He was the second of four children. When Adrian was a year old, his family moved to Cyprus, then on to Bahrain and Uganda. At the age of 11, he was sent back to Britain to attend Pocklington School in East Yorkshire, where he was a boarder. At Manchester University, he met Rik Mayall, and later appeared in a one-man show at the National Student Drama Festival before joining forces with Mayall professionally.

Career: The duo went down a storm at the Edinburgh Festival in 1979 and became one of the main attractions at The Comedy Store and The Comic Strip clubs in London. Edmondson's TV debut came in November 1982 when The Comic Strip Presents… was shown on Channel 4's opening night. Days later, The Young Ones made him a famous face on BBC Two. Since then, he's starred in Saturday Live, Filthy, Rich and Catflap, Bottom, Guest House Paradiso (1999) and Jonathan Creek. He has directed television shows and pop videos, appeared in numerous stage plays, and written the novel The Gobbler. Edmondson showed his talent for serious acting when he spent three years in Holby City. He teamed up with Mayall once again in the winning performance on BBC One's Let's Dance for Comic Relief in 2011. Edmondson has appeared as a presenter on The Dales, Ade in Britain, That's Britain and Ade at Sea. He won Celebrity MasterChef in 2013. In 2016, he took part in The Great Sport Relief Bake Off and starred in an adaptation of Bits Of Me Are Falling Apart at the Soho Theatre in London.

Quote: "From the stage I've seen people of all ages absolutely roaring at really good toilet humour."

Trivia: Married comedy actress Jennifer Saunders in 1985.

James Lance (Actor) .. Terry Finch

Jonny Weldon (Actor) .. Robert Martins

Emma Stansfield (Actor) .. Annie

Jade Harrison (Actor) .. Charlie Woods

Sukh Ojla (Actor) .. Aad Gill

Vivien Keen (Actor) .. Louise Branagh

Alan Williams (Actor) .. Derek

Lindsay Hughes (Producer)

Sandy Johnson (Director)

Tony Jordan (Writer)

Robert Thorogood (Writer)

Beyond Paradise: Christmas Special 2025

9:00 pm - 10:00 pm, Sunday, December 21 on BBC One London HD (101)

About this Broadcast

Christmas Special 2025
Season 1, Episode 1

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