Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise reveal guest cast for Christmas specials – including Doctor Who and Ted Lasso stars

It's time to get into the festive spirit as further details of the anticipated Christmas specials for both Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise have now been unveiled.

It wouldn't quite be an episode of either without an exciting array of guest stars, with both casts of the special episodes having now been announced.

For the Death in Paradise Christmas special, the likes of Josie Lawrence (Outside Edge), Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead), Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), James Baxter (Waterloo Road), Billy Harris (Ted Lasso), Oriana Charles and Alix Serman are all joining the festivities.

The Christmas spirit will be unfolding in both Saint Marie and Swindon, according to the BBC, with the guest star already joining the main cast that's headed up by Don Gilet's DI Mervin Wilson.

The rest of the returning cast includes Shantol Jackson as DS Naomi Thomas, Ginny Holder as Officer Darlene Curtis, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah as Officer Sebastian Rose and Élizabeth Bourgine as Catherine Bordey.

The official synopsis for the episode reads: "The office Christmas party of a lifetime takes a dark turn when four co-workers wake up to find a stranger dead in the pool of their Caribbean villa. DI Mervin Wilson and the team identify the murder weapon, but they’re left baffled when they find that it was locked in a drawer when the murder took place... thousands of miles away from the crime scene, in Swindon!

"Stuck in Saint Marie, the team calls on the help of a familiar face to crack the case. Meanwhile, Mervin’s anxiously waiting to hear back from his newly discovered brother, which prevents him from embracing Saint Marie's Christmas celebrations. Can Mervin resolve his family situation and get into the festive spirit – for the sake of his team and the island?"

As for Beyond Paradise, we return to Shipton Abbott, with the guest cast including Adrian Edmondson (Alien: Earth), James Lance (Ted Lasso) and Jonny Weldon (One Day).

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The episode synopsis reads: "When Esther discovers a man on the steps of the Shipton Abbott police station with no memory, holding a photo of Humphrey, the team gets to work to uncover who the mysterious man is while balancing a flurry of festive cases.

"At the same time, with the help of Anne, Zoe and a special guest, Martha races to pull off her secret plan while Kelby tries to help a mystery man trapped inside his snowman costume. But with an influx of unexpected visitors, a slew of holiday crimes to crack, and a heartwarming reunion on the line, can the team juggle it all and still be ready for a life-changing reveal?"

It can't be a return to Shipton Abbott without Kris Marshall's DI Humphrey Goodman, who returns to helm alongside Sally Bretton.

Other returning familiar faces include Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Jamie Bamber as Archie Hughes and Melina Sinadinou as Zoe Williams.

As of now, there's no official release date for either but watch this space!

Death in Paradise seasons 1-14 are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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