Beyond Paradise reveals first look and guest cast for Christmas special

Other returning series regulars include Zahra Ahmadi (DS Esther Williams), Dylan Llewellyn (PC Kelby Hartford), Barbara Flynn (Anne Lloyd) and Felicity Montagu (Margo Martins).

Chris Jenks will also return as Josh Woods, a local who has had one or two run-ins with the police, as well as Jade Harrison as CS Charlie Woods and Eva Feiler as nurse Lucy.

While preparing for Christmas, Shipton Abbott is hit by a spate of "bizarre burglaries". But as the team dig deeper, they uncover an "unexpected connection" that makes them all "reconsider the true meaning" of the festive period.

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Elsewhere, Kelby has his hands full with a "cheeky young shoplifter", and "Humphrey feels the pressure when CS Charlie Woods continues to question why their beloved local police station should remain open".

And if that isn't quite enough action for one episode, "a chance encounter gives Martha food for thought about the future", and Esther's teenage daughter Zoe (Melina Sinadinou) is "less than impressed when she is made to work in Santa's Grotto".

Following the show's first outing, which was the "UK's most successful new drama launch of 2023 so far", the drama is returning for a second season in 2024, "delivering much-loved heart-warming relationship stories and puzzling criminal capers".

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