Beyond Paradise S4 episode 4: Cast includes rare appearances from veteran actresses Susan George and Susan Penhaligon
Two TV legends pop up in Shipton Abbott this week...
BBC One transports us back to Shipton Abbott this week, as Beyond Paradise series 4 continues with episode 4 and two very recognisable TV faces join the cast.
On Friday (April 17, 2026), the team investigates when a seaweed farm is targeted in an act of sabotage. And local fisherman Jeff Simmons swears that he saw the legendary mermaid of Shipton Abbott on the night of the incident. He’s a bit of an eccentric to say the least…
With no logical explanation for how someone could damage the farm and get away unseen among glowing bioluminescent waters, Esther braces herself for an excited Humphrey to run wild with the possibility that their prime suspect could be a mermaid!
Here’s who plays who in the cast of Beyond Paradise series 4 episode 4.
Beyond Paradise series 4 episode 4 cast: Susan George portrays Dr Mary Rhodes
Surrey-born Susan George, 75, stars as Dr Mary Rhodes in this week’s Beyond Paradise. And it’s one of many appearances on TV across her seven decade career which spanned both the UK and the US.
She began doing commercials for Sugar Puffs, Fish Fingers and Air lines at the aged of six. Susan then made her very first primetime TV appearance in 1962, when she was just 12. That year, she popped up in the comedy series The Dickie Henderson Show. Other early roles included Kitty Walker and Swallows and Amazons, Catherine Eddowes in the Michael Caine drama Jack the Ripper, and Allie Mannering in The Castle of Adventure.
But it was perhaps her provocative, often controversial roles, in 70s films that she will be remembered for. George played Amy Sumner in Straw Dogs, and Blanche Maxwell in Mandingo – both roles that got her typecast as the “sexpot”. Let’s put it this way, your dad probably fancied the pants off her.
Who did Susan George play in EastEnders?
EastEnders fans will know her for playing Margaret Walker in 2001. Margaret began a relationship with Terry Raymond, which Terry’s flatmate Janine Butcher did not approve of. Janine grew extremely jealous of Margaret and Terry’s relationship, and played various tricks to split them up. And, of course, she eventually got her way.
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Susan has chosen to appear on TV much less these days, and has barely been on our screens since the BBC soap. So her role in Beyond Paradise is particularly rare. Other notable roles in her long career include Samantha Mansfield in Stay Lucky, and Mrs Peacock in Cluedo.
In real life, Susan George was married to Casualty actor Simon MacCorkindale. They were together from 1984 until his death in 2010, and did not have any children.
Susan Penhaligon stars as Maud Dingleby
Philippines-born Susan Penhaligon, 76, plays Maud Dingleby in the cast of Beyond Paradise series 4 episode 4. Like her fellow Susan [George], she’s a veteran actress with more than 50 years of experience in TV, film, and theatre.
She made her very first screen appearance as an extra in the 1971 film Say Hello to Yesterday. She was in her early 20s at the time. Susan went on to appear in countless TV shows, including Doctor Who, The Visitors, Bouquet of Barbed Wire, and A Kind of Loving. Between 1981 and 1984, she portrayed Helen in the popular family sitcom A Fine Romance.
Emmerdale fans will know her for playing Jean Hope in 2006. Jean was the first wife of Bob Hope and the mother of his eldest children. Bob and Jean divorced after he walked out, leaving Jean to raise her children alone in Spain. Since Emmerdale, Susan has made rare appearances on our screens, including roles in Casualty, and Doctors.
She’s been in tonnes of films, too, such as Under Milk Wood, the rather saucy Private Road, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Land That Time Forgot.
Susan has also published the book For the Love of Angel, published in 2008. The story is set in Cornwall, so not a million miles away from the fictional Shipton Abbott.
She was previously married to Emmerdale star Duncan Preston before their divorce in
Rina Mahoney plays Diana Cooper
Birmingham-born Rina Mahoney, 52, appears as Diana Cooper in Beyond Paradise. The Bay fans will recognise Rina for playing grieving mum Mariam Rahman in the 2022 series of the Morecambe-based detective drama.
Meanwhile, The Archers fans will recognise her voice as that of Jess Titchener, a character she played between 2013 and 2023.
Actress Rina has been on our screens since 1992, when she first popped up as a chambermaid in the detective drama Kinsey. She went on to play Debbie in Heartburn Hotel, Julie in This England, and Anisha Bhatti in the final series of Happy Valley.
More recently, she starred as Zelda Gere in COBRA, Laura Ashcattle in Mary & George, Ayesha in Gangs of London, and Claire in the Channel 5 thriller Love Rat. Rina also popped up as Lydia Green in the cast of Ellis series 1. Lydia was a local in Brindleton who took an interest in the disappearance case.
Last year, Rina portrayed Marin Al’Vere in The Wheel of Time, and Professor Judy Rathbone in quirky crime drama Patience.
Who else appears in the cast of Beyond Paradise series 4 episode 4?
Henry Miller, not to be confused with the American novelist of the same name, plays eccentric local fisherman Jeff Simmons. A jobbing actor of more than 25 years, he’s perhaps most famous for playing Robert Morganstaff in Line of Duty series 4, Colin Moore in two episodes of The Bill, and a vicar in several episodes of Coronation Street.
More recently, Henry has portrayed Dr Fraser Theobald in Grace. He’s also been in multiple films such as The Running Man, A Christmas Story Christmas, Beaten, and Planespotting. He even appeared as a farmer in the music video for Radiohead’s If You Say the Word.
Newcomer Talia Robens stars as Lacy Dingleby in her very first TV role.
Xander Pang portrays Elijah Moore. Like Talia, it is also his first ever TV appearance!
Full cast list for Beyond Paradise series 4 episode 4:
Kris Marshall returns as DI Humphrey Goodman.
Sally Bretton plays Martha Goodman.
Zahra Ahmadi stars as Esther Williams.
Dylan Llewellyn portrays Kelby Hartford.
Felicity Montagu is Margo Martins.
Barbara Flynn plays Anne Lloyd.
Melina Sinadinou returns as Zoe Williams.
Jamie Bamber plays Archie Hughes.
Gina Bramhill portrays Archie’s new girlfriend Amelia.
Guest cast includes:
Susan George as Dr Mary Rhodes.
Susan Penhaligon as Maud Dingleby.
Rina Mahoney as Diana Cooper.
Henry Miller as Jeff Simmons.
Talia Robens as Lacy Dingleby.
Xander Pang as Elijah Moore.
Read more: Who was Lionel Lepage on Death in Paradise? BBC One honours him in touching end-of-credits tribute
