Humphrey Goodman

Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman is a character in the crime drama television series Death in Paradise, portrayed by Kris Marshall.

Goodman is assigned to Saint Marie after the murder of D.I. Richard Poole at the start of Series 3. Clues from Poole's investigation helped Goodman reveal the motive and the killer's identity; Goodman commented that Poole had 'solved his own murder.' Goodman stayed on in Saint Marie after his wife Sally announced she would not be joining him on the Caribbean island. He became the chief inspector on the island, and took to Poole's old habit of announcing the murderer in front of all the suspects and his police team. He is very clumsy, often forgetting things or finding himself with nothing to take notes on; he embraces Caribbean life much more than his predecessor. He has a knack at being able to solve murders instantly, looking at the meaning of small details, much like his predecessor. He fell in love with his detective sergeant, Camille Bordey, often coming close to revealing his feelings for her. He tried to stop her leaving when she requested a job in Paris, but conceded. He shared a passionate kiss with her just before she left the island. Her successor, Florence Cassell, also managed to get along with Goodman, often sharing jokes and they dedicate a drink to Camille after their first solved case.

Humphrey

Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:

People with the given name

  • Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham (1381–1399), English peer and member of the House of Lords
  • Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390–1447)
  • Humphrey Bland (1686–1763), British Army general
  • Humphrey Bogart (1899–1957), American film actor
  • Humphrey Critchley-Salmonson (1894–1956), cricketer
  • Humphrey Crum-Ewing (1802–1887), English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1857 to 1874
  • Humphrey J. Desmond (1858-1932), American politician, writer, lawyer, and newspaper editor
  • Humphrey Henchman (1592–1675), Church of England clergyman and bishop of London from 1663 to 1675
  • Humphrey Lyttelton (1921–2008), British jazz musician and host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
  • Humphrey Mitchell (1894–1950), Canadian politician and trade unionist
  • Humphrey Moseley (died 1661), prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century
  • Humphrey Mwanza (1949–2015), Zambian politician
  • Humphrey (cat)

    Humphrey (c. 1988 March 2006) was a cat employed as the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from October 1989 to 13 November 1997. Arriving as a one-year-old stray, he served under the premierships of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair, but retired 6 months after the Blairs moved into Downing Street. He was the successor to Wilberforce. He was frequently referred to in jest by the press as an actual employee at Number 10.

    Start of employment

    Humphrey was found as a stray by a Cabinet Office civil servant and named in honour of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the archetypal civil servant of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. After the death of the previous mouser, Wilberforce, in 1988 the Cabinet Office and Number 10 were in need of a replacement and so Humphrey began his work.

    At a cost of about £100 a year (paid for from the Cabinet Office's budget), most of which went towards food, Humphrey was said to be of considerably better value than the Cabinet's professional pest controller, who charged £4,000 a year and is reported to have never caught a mouse. Frequently pictured posing by the famous Number 10 front door, Humphrey's primary duties involved catching mice and rats in the maze of Downing Street buildings. The poor quality of the buildings, some of which date from the 16th century, and the nearby St. James's Park ensure a continuous vermin problem. By the time of his retirement, Humphrey had risen to the position of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.

    Kasakela Chimpanzee Community

    The Kasakela chimpanzee community is a habituated community of wild eastern chimpanzees that lives in Gombe National Park near Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. The community was the subject of Dr Jane Goodall's pioneering study that began in 1960, and studies have continued ever since. As a result, the community has been instrumental in the study of chimpanzees, and has been popularized in several books and documentaries. The community's popularity was enhanced by Dr Goodall's practice of giving names to the chimpanzees she was observing, in contrast to the typical scientific practice of identifying the subjects by number. Dr Goodall generally used a naming convention in which infants were given names starting with the same letter as their mother, allowing the recognition of matrilineal lines.

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    Latest News for: humphrey goodman

    Beyond Paradise’s Kris Marshall looks back: ‘I was once fired from Iceland for wearing blue sunglasses on the till’

    The Observer 30 Mar 2025
    Styling ... Styling ... He went on to play Colin Frissell in romcom Love Actually and joined the cast of the cosy crime drama Death in Paradise as DI Humphrey Goodman in 2013 ... ... Unless of course I am playing DI Humphrey Goodman, a man who wears a lot of linen.

    Beyond Paradise viewers confess they were left spiraling ahead of the BBC show's series three ...

    The Daily Mail 29 Mar 2025
    As well as Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton ... The news followed the second series' finale on BBC One that month which saw DI Humphrey Goodman and Martha Lloyd very nearly get married.

    Beyond Paradise’s Kris Marshall looks back: ‘I was once fired from Iceland for wearing blue ...

    The Guardian 29 Mar 2025
    He went on to play Colin Frissell in romcom Love Actually and joined the cast of the cosy crime drama Death in Paradise as DI Humphrey Goodman in 2013 ...Click! Got it!” ....

    What happened to the cast of My Family? As Zoe Wanamaker reveals whether sitcom will ...

    The Daily Mail 29 Mar 2025
    Since leaving the show, Kris played DI Humphrey Goodman in BBC's crime drama Death In Paradise from 2014 to 2017 ... Since leaving the show, Kris (pictured last year) played DI Humphrey Goodman in BBC's crime drama Death In Paradise from 2014 to 2017 ... .

    KRIS MARSHALL on how he almost didn't get the role in Death in Paradise: 'I ...

    The Daily Mail 29 Mar 2025
    He owes this fame to his role as bumbling Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman, first in the hit BBC series Death in Paradise, then in its equally popular spinoff Beyond Paradise, which has just ...

    BBC Beyond Paradise first look as Humphrey Goodman tackles 'impossible' murder case

    The Mirror 28 Mar 2025
    Beyond Paradise is back for a brand new series - with DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) and his team ready to investigate some of the biggest crimes to hit Devon ... .

    Beyond Paradise sees scone showdown sparking age old jam or cream first debate

    AOL 28 Mar 2025
    Kris Marshall and Zahra Ahmadi star in the Death in Paradise spin-off set one the Devon coast, as police partners DI Humphrey Goodman and DS ...

    TV tonight: a violinist’s incredible recovery from a brain injury

    The Observer 28 Mar 2025
    My Brain ... West county complications … Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman ... Was it the tragic result of a drunken car accident or, as Humphrey suspects, could there be something – or someone – more calculated at work? Ali CatterallGardeners’ World ... .

    Paul O’Connell confirmed as Ireland’s interim head coach for summer’s Tests

    The Irish Times 26 Mar 2025
    ... British and Irish Lions coaching ticket for the summer tour to Australia, with Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty also among Andy Farrell’s assistants ... The IRFU performance director David Humphreys said.

    Beyond Paradise's Jamie Bamber says Archie won't get 'a redemption arc' in series 3

    AOL 19 Mar 2025
    The character is Martha's ex-fiancé, which has always caused some issues with her current fiancé Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) especially when it appeared —in season 1 at least— that Archie ...

    Beyond Paradise's Kris Marshall reveals DI Humphrey inspiration after 10 years

    York Press 18 Mar 2025
    BBC Beyond Paradise star Kris Marshall has revealed the inspiration behind his character of 10 years, DI Humphrey Goodman, ahead of series three ... .

    Beyond Paradise's Kris Marshall issued stern warning by BBC bosses

    York Press 18 Mar 2025
    Beyond Paradise star Kris Marshall (DI Humphrey Goodman) said he was issued a stern warning by BBC bosses ... .
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