Beyond Paradise 2026 Christmas release date confirmed with special guest cast in new first look - including British comedy legend

The BBC has confirmed the release date and guest cast for the 2026 Beyond Paradise Christmas special, with a festive first look teasing a mystery centred on a Santa who is "decidedly more naughty than nice".

Johnny Vegas leads the new faces docking in Shipton Abbott, with the special arriving on BBC iPlayer from Friday 27 November and airing on BBC One over the festive season.

Vegas, known for Ideal and Benidorm, is joined by Paul Chowdhry (Devils), Martin Trenaman (The Inbetweeners), Syreeta Kumar (Apple Tree Yard) and Sam Hunter (One Battle After Another) among this year's guest stars.

The regular cast all return, including Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins and Jamie Bamber as Archie Hughes.

This year's festive case begins when a little girl spies Santa Claus on a rooftop, only for the residents of the Whitfield Estate to wake and discover a man dressed as Santa has plummeted from the roof.

A spate of robberies has taken place, with all the video and eyewitness evidence implicating the big man himself.

"But when the man in red wakes up in hospital, can Humphrey get the answers he needs before Christmas arrives?" reads the synopsis.

And there's plenty happening elsewhere.

Martha receives a number of unrecognised phone calls and senses she's being followed – an unsettling development that prompts her to "confront a mysterious stranger".

But that leads to a "difficult conversation once the culprit's true identity and reason for coming to Shipton Abbott become clear".

"Elsewhere, Esther puts Archie to the test by insisting that a couple's first Christmas together can make or break them, leaving Archie under pressure to pull out all the stops with his present," the synopsis continues.

"Kelby, meanwhile, finds himself caught between two warring neighbours, each accusing the other of sabotage in their fierce competition to have the most extravagant Christmas lights display."

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Beyond Paradise will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from Friday 27 November 2026.

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Authors

Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.