Beyond Paradise star teases a “spanner in the works” for season 2

zahra ahmadi as ds esther williams, beyond paradise season 2
Beyond Paradise star teases “spanner in the works”Joss Barratt - BBC

Beyond Paradise season 2 spoilers follow.

Beyond Paradise star Zahra Ahmadi has hinted at a “spanner in the works” for her character DS Esther Williams in season 2.

Humphrey Goodman's trusty partner in the Shipton Abbott police has faced some challenging cases in the past, including a series of house break-ins where nothing was stolen and the mysterious disappearance of a valuable painting.

Esther remains a capable and skilled detective, but Ahmadi has teased that viewers will see another side of her in the new episodes.

"She has a few secrets – unintentional ones. And, of course, like all secrets, they come out. So there’s a lot to juggle there, and there’s a lot for Esther to put right and to try to put right. Whether she achieves that or not is debatable," Ahmadi told Digital Spy.

zahra ahmadi as ds esther williams, beyond paradise season 2
Joss Barratt - BBC

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"But, yeah, we really see her out of her comfort zone, because I think that Esther’s comfort zone is being organised and efficient and doing her job. She likes things to live in an orderly fashion. Of course, these things in her personal life and her past come back to haunt her and throw a spanner in the works, and things don’t run seamlessly. So it’s good to see how she works under pressure, personally, not just professionally," the actor continued.

The Shipton Abbott police squad will face yet more scrutiny from Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods – and there is trouble on the horizon.

"She needs to get off our back. We’re in lots of trouble actually," Felicity Montagu, who plays Margo, told us.

Ahmadi agreed: "It’s hanging over our heads quite heavily, yeah. We’re feeling all the pressure, and we’re not really sure what exactly we can do about that because we really are doing our job and trying our best. The issue that we’re exploring in the series is the difference between community policing and policing by numbers. It’s a really difficult thing to fight against that level of bureaucracy."

barbara flynn, sally bretton, kris marshall, zahra ahmadi, felicity montagu, dylan llewellyn, beyond paradise season 2
BBC

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Montagu expects the conflict between the chief superintendent and the Shipton Abbott police to generate big reactions from viewers.

"I think it’ll resonate with the public because it’s happening everywhere. Look at the Post Office and everywhere. The storyline will resonate, I think, quite powerfully," she said.

Dylan Llewellyn, who plays PC Kelby Hartford, added: "It’s like we’re the underdogs kind of thing, aren’t we? And the headquarters is the whole big … And we’re trying to keep alive, that kind of thing."

Beyond Paradise will return on BBC One on March 22.

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