Death in Paradise & Beyond Paradise 2025 Christmas Specials Cast

 BBC drops full guest line-ups and plot details for Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise 2025 Christmas specials – Doctor Who, Ted Lasso, Shaun of the Dead stars join the festive murders. Everything you need before they air on BBC iPlayer. Read now!

The BBC announced the guest casts and plot teasers for this year’s Christmas specials of Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise on 18 November 2025, and the line-ups look properly strong. Both 90-minute episodes will land on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this December, and they already feel like the perfect cosy-but-murdery Christmas watch.

Beyond Paradise brings back Kris Marshall’s Humphrey Goodman to a snowy Devon town full of chaos, while Death in Paradise gives new lead Don Gilet a genuinely impossible crimes – the murder weapon locked in a drawer in Swindon while the body is floating in a Saint Marie pool. Classic Paradise nonsense, and I’m here for it.

These festive specials always deliver big names in small roles, and 2025 is no different. Doctor Who’s Pearl Mackie, Ted Lasso’s James Lance and Billy Harris, Shaun of the Dead’s Kate Ashfield, comedy legend Adrian Edmondson, Josie Lawrence… the list is ridiculous. If you love spotting familiar faces before they get bumped off (or do the bumping), these episodes are going to be a treat.

Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2025: Plot and Guest Stars

Shipton Abbott gets proper Christmassy this year. Esther finds a man on the police station steps with amnesia who’s clutching a photo of Humphrey. That’s the main thread. Meanwhile Kelby deals with someone trapped in a snowman costume (yes, really), and Martha runs around with Anne, Zoe, and a special guest trying to keep a big secret plan under wraps – everyone assumes it’s a surprise proposal or a baby announcement, but the BBC keeps quiet.

Guest stars heading to Devon:

• Adrian Edmondson (The Young Ones, Bottom, Alien: Earth)
• James Lance (Ted Lasso’s Trent Crimm)
• Jonny Weldon (One Day, House of the Dragon)

They join the regulars: Kris Marshall, Sally Bretton, Zahra Ahmadi, Dylan Llewellyn, Barbara Flynn, Felicity Montagu, Jamie Bamber, and Melina Sinadinou.

The episode mixes the usual quirky cases with a potentially emotional Humphrey storyline and whatever Martha hides. Last year’s special ended on a big Humphrey/Martha moment, so this could move their story forward significantly.

Death in Paradise Christmas Special 2025: The Swindon Edition

This one is wild even by Paradise standards.

Four co-workers wake up hung-over in their rented villa to find a stranger dead in the pool. The murder weapon is identified immediately… but it was locked in a drawer in Swindon, England, at the time of the killing. Thousands of miles away. Locked drawer. No way it could have been used. That’s the kind of bonkers locked-room puzzle the show loves, and new DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) has to solve it while stuck on the island and waiting to hear back from the brother he only just discovered.

The team phones a “familiar face” for help – speculation is already pointing at Ralf Little or maybe even Ardal O’Hanlon or Ben Miller popping up on a video call. We’ll see.

Guest stars on Saint Marie this year:

• Josie Lawrence (Outside Edge, Whose Line Is It Anyway?)
• Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead)
• Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who – Bill Potts)
• James Baxter (Waterloo Road, Alma’s Not Normal)
• Billy Harris (Ted Lasso)
• Oriana Charles
• Alix Serman

Regulars: Don Gilet, Shantol Jackson, Ginny Holder, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, and Élizabeth Bourgine as Catherine.

Notably absent from the cast list and photos is Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington absent this Christmas, apparently filming something else). First time in 14 years he’ll miss a festive episode, and fans have already noticed.

Why These Guest Stars Actually Matter

Casting directors for these shows are geniuses at picking actors fans love.

Pearl Mackie showing up on Saint Marie is huge – Doctor Who fans still miss Bill Potts, and putting her in a sunny murder mystery is perfect. James Lance and Billy Harris both from Ted Lasso will make half the audience yell “Trent Crimm!” or “Colin Hughes!” the second they appear. Adrian Edmondson in a cosy crime is just funny casting – you expect him to swear or blow something up, not solve a festive theft or whatever he’s doing in Shipton Abbott.

These aren’t random names; they’re the kind of actors who make you go “oh it’s THEM” and instantly feel happier about the episode.

How the Two Specials Connect (or Don’t)

They’re separate stories, but the BBC treats them as a double bill. Beyond Paradise airs first (usually Christmas Eve or just before), Death in Paradise on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Watching both back-to-back has become a proper tradition for a lot of us.

There’s a small thematic link this year – both involve someone trying to contact or reunite with family (Mervin and his brother, the amnesia man with Humphrey’s photo). Bit of heart among the murders.

Where and When to Watch

Both specials air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK this December 2025 (exact dates still to be confirmed, but historically 24th/25th/26th).

Outside the UK:

• BritBox (North America, Nordics, etc.) gets Beyond Paradise
• Death in Paradise is on BBC First, France Télévisions, etc., depending on territory.

All previous series of both shows are currently streaming on BBC iPlayer (UK) and BritBox internationally.

Early Fan Reactions – 24 Hours After the Announcement

The news only dropped yesterday (18 Nov), but people are already losing it over Pearl Mackie and the Swindon weapon. Digital Spy and Radio Times articles are racking up comments like “Pearl Mackie on my screen again for Christmas is the gift I needed” and “A weapon locked in Swindon while the murder’s in the Caribbean might be the most Death in Paradise thing ever.”

Ted Lasso fans are particularly loud about James Lance and Billy Harris both appearing in the Paradise universe within weeks of each other. Someone on X already made a “Trent Crimm and Colin in the same fictional universe” joke that got 3k likes overnight.

FAQs

When do the Christmas specials air? Exact dates not confirmed yet, but expect Beyond Paradise on Christmas Eve or 23 Dec and Death in Paradise on Christmas Day or Boxing Day 2025 on BBC One.

Is Don Warrington in the Death in Paradise special? No. The Commissioner is missing from cast list and photos for the first time ever. He’s filming another project.

Will there be a proposal in Beyond Paradise? Martha’s “secret plan” with Anne and Zoe sounds very much like wedding prep. Possibly.

Who is the “familiar face” helping the Saint Marie team from the UK? Strong money on Ralf Little’s Neville or maybe Kris Marshall’s Humphrey via video call, given the Swindon link.

Is this Don Gilet’s first Christmas episode as the lead detective? Yes – his proper debut as DI Mervin Wilson after the cameo last series.

Any chance of a proper crossover? Not this year, but never say never.

The 2025 Christmas specials look like the strongest double bill in years – proper impossible crimes, emotional family stuff for both leads, and guest casts that are genuinely exciting. Mark the calendar, stock up on mince pies, and prepare for two nights of sunshine, snow, and someone inevitably getting murdered at a Christmas party.

See you in Saint Marie and Shipton Abbott this Christmas.