Beyond Paradise's penultimate episode left fans with a heartbreaking cliffhanger when DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) and Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) had a much-needed heart-to-heart about their relationship.
In an emotional scene on the deck of their houseboat, Martha admitted her fears that, despite Humphrey's assurances he was okay with the two of them not having children, he was only saying that to make her happy, and he would eventually come to resent her. Breaking down, she told him that she couldn't marry him like that, and returned her engagement ring before leaving in tears.
Surely this can't be the end for the much-loved couple? Ahead of the first season's finale, we caught up with Beyond Paradise's executive producer Tim Key to find out what's in store...
Beyond Paradise interview with executive producer Tim Key
What can we expect from the finale?
"It's just a massive episode, I think there's a hell of a lot going on in it! Apart from the fact that it's got a great puzzle, as always, at the heart of it, and I think Zahra [Ahmadi], who plays Esther, is absolutely on fire in this episode, I also think on top of that it's the culmination of a series full of serial stories, and it's genuinely incredibly moving and sort of heartbreaking at times. I'm very proud of it — I think it's a real treat for the audience, and it really rewards the journey that everyone's been on."
We've definitely been on a journey with Humphrey and Martha, and there's a lot to be resolved...
"We have, and one of the things we were very definite about from the start was that we wanted to take everything that people knew about Death In Paradise but do something a bit different, and I think in Martha and Humphrey we've told a very honest story about a couple finding their way, and things don't work out how they thought they might, or hoped they would. It's about what they do, and what comes next.
"I think Kris and Sally have been incredibly strong throughout. Some of the scenes they've had together are really powerful and genuinely heartbreaking, so I think you're really rooting for that couple, but life itself is complicated and takes twists that people don't expect, and we wanted to reflect that in the show."
The plotline of Martha and Humphrey struggling with IVF and whether they will become parents has been beautifully told. What made you decide you wanted to tell this story?
"When we knew we were going ahead with this, one of the first questions we asked was 'where are Martha and Humphrey at now?' The name of the show sort of sets out our stall: we've done a big happy ending for them in Death In Paradise and we decided that the question is, what comes next? When you've got the thing you always wanted, what happens now?
"At the age those characters are, wanting to start a family felt like a very traditional, honest and normal thing to do. We didn't want to do a big 'issue' show, but that said, there are a lot of people who have tried to have children and haven't been able to, who then have to move beyond that and look at what their life would be like if children aren't part of it, and that felt like something we really wanted to dramatise.
"I remember seeing someone on Twitter asking for an example of a show with a genuinely happy couple right at the heart of it, and not a big 'will they, won't they?' storyline. That's what Humphrey and Martha are, and I love it for that — we're not playing a 'will they, won't they?', we're playing 'these two are meant to be together, they love each other, but life is tricky', and that's the very heart of the show. Kris and Sally have a very special chemistry on screen, and from that point of view it was easy to throw challenges at Humphrey and Martha because we just knew that Kris and Sally would deliver, and then some."
Fans have really taken the show into their hearts already — are you pleased with the response you've had?
"I'm delighted with the response. It was a huge risk, and we knew that it was — we wouldn't have done it if we didn't feel that we had something strong to do, and a story to tell, but whichever way you look at it, spinning off a show that's successful and very loved is really risky. I was very nervous when the reviews and the ratings started coming in, and about what people might say on social media and all that kind of thing — but it seems to have landed really well, really quickly.
"On a sort of Death In Paradise show, the tone of it is so hard to get right, and I think when we were watching finished episodes, even with our temporary soundtrack in place, you could feel the show had its own joy and its own identity. Then when Magnus [Fiennes] delivered his score, and Bellowhead delivered their theme tune and end credit music, and we graded it and I watched it for the first time in a dub suite, all finished with the sound mixed, I just thought 'this really works', so to have the audience respond the way they have has been a real treat."
- The finale of Beyond Paradise airs on Friday, April 7 on BBC1 at 8 pm, and on BritBox in the US.
