About the character
Charlie Woods represents senior police leadership above the Shipton Abbott station. Her visits bring scrutiny, resources and institutional pressure to a team that normally operates on a much smaller scale.
Charlie Woods’s story
Character arc (no case solutions)
Charlie Woods is the senior officer above Humphrey's team in Series 1-3, and the person who keeps raising the threat of closing the small Shipton Abbott station. At Christmas 2023 she questions the station's future yet also gives Humphrey some festive cheer, and in the Series 2 finale she clashes with Kelby before letting him keep his case. A review in that episode decides the station stays open. By Series 4 she has transferred to another division and been replaced by the far tougher Chief Superintendent James Smith (Vincent Franklin).
Place in the series
Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods appears across Series 1 and Series 2 and Series 3. The table below keeps every currently verified regular-episode credit together without revealing a culprit or case solution.
Verified appearances
| Series | Episode | First UK broadcast | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 3 | 10 March 2023 | The missing painting |
| Series 1 | 5 | 31 March 2023 | The Three Little Pigs arson case |
| Series 1 | 6 | 7 April 2023 | An impossible burglary |
| Series 2 | 1 | 22 March 2024 | Murder on a steam railway |
| Series 2 | 6 | 26 April 2024 | A museum-piece theft |
| Series 3 | 1 | 28 March 2025 | A body on a county boundary |
| Series 3 | 3 | 11 April 2025 | Poisoned chocolates |
About Jade Harrison
Jade Harrison is a British actor whose screen work spans crime drama, comedy and science fiction. She played DCI Danielle Metts in the action-comedy Wedding Season (2022) and Bayla Dornick in Apple TV+'s Foundation, and has appeared in Harlan Coben's The Stranger (2020), The Capture, This Way Up, Back to Life, Queens of Mystery, The Midwich Cuckoos (2022), Mrs Sidhu Investigates (2023), Insomnia (2024) and the phone-hacking drama The Hack (2025, as Julie-Ann Cleveland). In Beyond Paradise she played Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods, Humphrey's senior officer, through the first three series (2023-2025), before Vincent Franklin's James Smith took over the post in series 4.
Jade Harrison TV shows and films
- Harlan Coben's The Stranger (2020, Vicky Hoy)
- Foundation (Bayla Dornick)
- Wedding Season (2022, DCI Danielle Metts)
- The Midwich Cuckoos (2022, Deborah Haynes)
- The Hack (2025, Julie-Ann Cleveland)
- Beyond Paradise (2023-2025, Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods)
Open Jade Harrison’s actor profile
Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods: questions fans ask
Who plays Charlie Woods in Beyond Paradise?
Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods is played by Jade Harrison, who appears in Series 1 to 3 and the early Christmas specials.
Why isn't Charlie Woods in Beyond Paradise Series 4?
On screen, Woods has moved to another division before Series 4. Her replacement, Chief Superintendent James Smith (Vincent Franklin), arrives demanding cuts that put Humphrey's team at risk.