Beyond Paradise star points to what sets Martha and Humphrey apart from other BBC drama couples
"They have to learn it all very fast."
Ahead of the Beyond Paradise‘s season three debut, lead actor Kris Marshall has opened up about his character’s relationship with Sally Bretton’s Martha Lloyd.
During an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, the Humphrey actor explained how the pair’s steady relationship is what sets them apart from other couples in BBC dramas.
“I think it’s quite a positive that your main couple in a BBC drama is not having that much drama within themselves,” he said.
The couple initially experienced problems when the show first debuted, which were exacerbated by the arrival of Martha’s ex fiancé Archie Hughes (Jamie Bamber), who returns to the show this season after being absent in season two.
However, the show’s central couple continues to thrive in the third season after they proved to be rather settled in the previous season.
“I think we find Humphrey and Martha in good stead,” Marshall explained.
“They’re fun with each other. They’re quirky. They don’t take each other too seriously, but they certainly don’t take each other for granted and they’re a bit of a united front.”
However, challenges are still on the horizon for Martha and Humphrey this season as the pair welcome a new foster child into their home. The 9-year-old girl will become the couple’s first long-term foster placement.
Related: Beyond Paradise set for special crossover with beloved long-running BBC show
“Humphrey and Martha haven’t ever been foster parents. I know they’ve done that little bit of fostering but not every day,” Bretton explained.
“Not the school run, not organising stuff in life and doing the juggle that every parent knows about.”
Bretton added: “They have to learn it all very fast and deal with a little person who isn’t at home, who has been lifted out of her family for a period of time and all that that would bring. It’s a thrill but it’s challenging.”
Marshall teased how this new chapter in their lives would affect the pair.
“As a foster parent, you’ve got a lot of love to give and you want to invest that into a young person who is being fostered because they have challenges with their biological parents,” he said.
“That brings its own challenges, because obviously as humans and people who have a lot of love to give, the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. So that inevitably brings its own challenges further down the line.”
Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise both air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.
