Beyond Paradise’s Sally Bretton ‘wasn’t ready’ as she opens up on series exit
Death in Paradise actress Sally Bretton has opened up about her time on the BBC detective drama
Sally Bretton plays Martha Lloyd in Beyond Paradise(Image: BBC)
Sally Bretton, renowned for playing Martha Lloyd in the BBC’s Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise, has revealed her reluctance to depart the sun-drenched detective series back in 2017.
Taking on the role of detective Humphrey Goodman’s (portrayed by Kris Marshall) fiancée-now-wife, Sally made her debut as Martha in 2017, quickly capturing audiences’ hearts as her character rekindled a former romance with Humphrey, eventually prompting him to exchange Saint Marie for London.
During a previous candid conversation on This Morning, Sally confessed she would have gladly prolonged her time on the programme.
When asked whether she “was ready” to stop filming in the Caribbean, she firmly responded, “No!”
She explained: “I was only out there for four or five weeks. I didn’t get any of the hurricanes; I got it at just the perfect time. I had an amazing time.”
Humphrey and Martha on Beyond Paradise(Image: BBC)
Discussing Martha’s journey in the spin-off Beyond Paradise, Sally shared insights into Martha and Humphrey’s fresh start in Shipton Abbott, Devon, where they begin fostering after their emotional IVF experience.
With considerable excitement, Sally expressed her eagerness to reprise her role as Martha in the BBC One spin-off.
“I was part of Kris’ exit storyline from the Caribbean, and then we were in the first lockdown, and the phone rang,” she told This Morning presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God!’. Even if it doesn’t happen, it was just three weeks of thinking about that while the world had stopped. It was to have something to sink my teeth into.”
The programme also features Open All Hours’ Barbara Flynn as Anne, portraying Martha’s mother, alongside Zahra Ahmadi in the role of DS Esther Williams, Humphrey’s colleague at Shipton Abbott police.
Rounding out the cast, Dylan Llewellyn and Felicity Montagu appear as fellow officers and teammates of Humphrey.
The new series of the Cornwall-based drama is currently airing and follows Martha and Humphrey after they got married in the Christmas special.
Martha’s stint on Death in Paradise didn’t last long(Image: (Image: BBC))
In an exclusive interview with Reach PLC, Kris and Sally teased fans with what they can expect from series four. However, while the couple is now happily married, things are set to take an emotional turn.
Sharing details about Martha and Humphrey’s storyline, Sally said, ‘Was this a bit of an unexpected twist anyway? Going to live on the boat as it wasn’t really the plan originally’.
“And maybe now that they’re married and they want to focus a lot on settling a little bit more, and maybe it’s time to start having a look at a house, and I think they want to focus on each other and have all of the fun and everything that they always have done, but they’ve been knocked off center a lot.”
Kris went on, “I think it’s being thrust into making a decision about moving forward. You know, and the fact that it comes right at the beginning of episode one.
“In the last episode, we saw them get married. They sort of reaffirmed their commitment to each other as a couple, despite everything else that’s happened to them during the fostering journey, living on a boat, and living with her mum. You know, all the other outward factors that influence them, they’re always just the two of them together.
“They come back to this sort of like a solid base, and then to have the sort of almost immediate need to change their life again as soon as they’ve been married.
“Humphrey’s very much like, ‘I go off and solve some puzzles, solve some murders, solve some crimes, perfect, and then come back live on my boat’. He would never change. He wouldn’t change a thing, you know, he wouldn’t even think about it. He doesn’t think of life progression or anything like that.”
Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise are both available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
