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Beyond Paradise's Jamie Bamber teases conclusion of on-screen 'frustration' with Humphrey Goodman

The actor plays Archie in the Death in Paradise spin-off


Jamie Bamber as Archie and Kris Marshall as Humphrey© Craig Hardie
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
March 30, 2023
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Beyond Paradise fans were shocked after watching episode four of the BBC series when Archie Hughes, played by Jamie Bamber, tried to kiss his former flame, Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) in a dramatic twist.

Martha, who is happily involved with Kris Marshall's character, Humphrey Goodman, swiftly pushed Archie away, but Archie will continue to be a source of awkwardness for her and Humphrey.

WATCH: Humphrey causes havoc in Beyond Paradise on BBC

Chatting to HELLO! about the Death in Paradise spin-off, Jamie dropped a hint about his character and Humphrey coming head-to-head to address their on-screen rivalry and the "frustration" between the two characters.

"The subtext of what they're saying to each other is never really addressed. The delight in it is that the audience is going with the subtext, the audience is fully aware of what the subtext is but they're dancing around it."

MORE: Beyond Paradise star Kris Marshall talks returning to Death in Paradise for special episode 

MORE: Beyond Paradise: is season 2 happening? Get the details 

Archie and Martha sit at table on Beyond Paradise© Craig Hardie/BBC
Archie and Martha are former flames

Jamie continued: "There is a moment where it all comes off in the last episode and I hope it's a very satisfying conclusion to the frustration of their relationship, like 'Will these two blokes actually talk about what they want to talk about rather than tiptoeing around it?'"

Although there's awkwardness in the script between Humphrey and Archie, it seems Jamie and Kris had some fun filming the tense scenes.

Jamie explained: "It's so supremely awkward between [the characters] that every scene was on the verge of giggles. [Kris] has a twinkle in his eye all the time and it's just great to work with people like that. 

Humphrey and Martha sit at table in Beyond Paradise© Craig Hardie/BBC
Humphrey and Martha in Beyond Paradise

And Barbara too who plays Martha's mum, they're aware of everything that the situation presents and we end up taking one path through the dialogue, but there are a million other paths that it could take at any moment.

"Kris understands that that's the twinkle of comedy, that's the joy of the comedy that these situations could end up terribly at any moment. So almost every line is on the verge of some kind of ridiculous laughter and incredulity of what these characters are saying to each other."

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