Beyond Paradise's Kris Marshall has responded to Archie's return in the third season.
Martha's ex-fiancé, played by Jamie Bamber, fell out of favour with viewers when he attempted to win back Martha's affection during her rough patch with Humphrey back in season one of the Death in Paradise spin-off.
During an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Marshall suggested that his character Humphrey won't be "particularly bothered" by Archie's presence in the new season.
"It would be quite odd if [Archie] was never seen again, given that he runs a business [in Shipton Abbott] and he's lived there far longer than Humphrey has," he said.
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"I don't think Humphrey's particularly bothered. I think that he feels pretty happy in his relationship with Martha.
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"I think they're in a pretty good space together and I think Humphrey is quite bemused by Archie more than threatened."
He continued: "I don't think he ever felt threatened anyway. Maybe a bit in the first series, but I think he's slightly on a different plane. Archie's there. He's around and inevitably he's spreading his charm around and we'll see what happens."
Related: Beyond Paradise star points to what sets Martha and Humphrey apart from other BBC drama couples
During a separate exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Bamber revealed that he hadn't expected to return to the show.
"Archie had a particular function in the first series, which was to create an obstacle in that central relationship and to be a bit of a fly in the ointment," he said. "Then I wasn't in the second season, which I totally didn't expect to be.
"So it was a surprise when [executive producer] Tim Key rang me and said, 'Do you fancy a meeting for coffee? And I've got an idea and I want to throw it at you', and he threw it at me and I caught it and I loved it."
The star said that he was "delighted to come back", despite the negative response his character had received.
Speaking on viewers' reaction to him in season one, Bamber said: "I do get a lot of antipathy from viewers about the show and I'm always like, 'Hey, Archie's a good guy. He's just someone who's trying to create his own little life. He feels very strongly for this woman and he'd be an idiot not to be honest and to try', and that's what he did the first time.
"Let's see what he gets up to this time."
Beyond Paradise and Death in Paradise both air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
