Christmas episodes of 2 favorite BritBox series launch their new seasons

Category: Television and Streaming

Two of BritBox’s beloved mysteries return in 2025 however they both have holiday episodes this month to whet your appetite for the upcoming season of Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise. 

Beyond Paradise

On December 25th BritBox will begin streaming the Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2024. All of the cast has returned for this third season: Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DE Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, and Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins.

The Christmas special has two main storylines running through the show. First, Humphrey and Martha are fostering a teenager. Fostering a child is not as easy as they originally hoped, and a teenager adds even more difficulties. As they try to forge a connection with Jaiden, Humphrey has another problems.

The Shipton Abbott police force has their hands full with a missing Virgin Mary mannequin that has been stolen from the church. Kelby is assigned “Virgin Mary” detail and goes off in search of the mannequin.

Meanwhile, Humphrey and Ester are mystified by a man who keeps seeing his dead wife. And not only that, there are traces of the woman around the house. Could it be a spirit? Most likely not, as Humphrey uses his intelligence to add up clues to discover what is happening to that poor old man and who is tormenting him.

Both mysteries are solved by the end of the episode, as is the relationship between Martha and Jaiden.

Beyond Paradise returns for season 3 next spring.

Death in Paradise

The Death in Paradise Christmas Special 2024 premieres December 27, 2024 and it’s like a homecoming for fans of the show who have been anxiously awaiting the return of this colorful cast. The show takes place on the tropical island of Saint Marie with all the beauty of that island front and center. Even the wardrobes are colorful and tropical.

As fans of the series know, the show premiered in 2011 and has had a steady fanbase through the years even though the main Detective Inspector has changed several times. At the end of last season DI Neville Parker left the island so the police department in Honore is now down to DS Naomi Thomas (Shantou Jackson), Officer Darlene Curtis (Ginny Holder), Officer Dwayne Myers (Danny John-Jules), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington). 

They are desperately in need of a Detective Inspector when multiple Santas are murdered seemingly by the same gun at the same time. How could this be?

Enter DI Melvin Wilson (Don Gilet), who is on the island on his vacation from his job in London. He is a city boy and cannot adjust to the slower island life. He’s anxious to return to his beloved London but is asked by his supervisor to remain on Saint Marie to help them solve this strange case. Wilson is the only character not donning tropical attire as he refuses to get any more involved there than necessary. 

Needless to say, DI Wilson ruffles a few feathers and definitely gets on everyone’s nerves. He does not want to associate with his fellow officers or the people in the town. He just wants to solve the crime and get back to London.

It’s not like fans of the show aren’t used to a new DI coming in and being rather strange or unusual. There have been four DIs that have come to Honore, and each one has had his own quirks. (Humphrey Goodman is the only one to have a spinoff – Beyond Paradise.)

With the town on edge, it’s not a festive holiday season on the island until the mystery is finally solved. 

With Wilson entering the scene, viewers start the season with a new character who really doesn’t fit into the island at all, but it looks like it just might be where he belongs. And Dwayne is considering leaving the department. He’s a colorful character inside and out.

Also returning are Elizabeth Bourgnine as Catherine Borday, Mayor of Honore and owner of the local pub/restaurant, and of course Harry, the adorable lizard who lives at the beach shack given to the current DI.

Season 14 of Death in Paradise returns with new episodes in February 2025.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

Images Courtesy BritBox