diff --git a/filebeat/README.md b/filebeat/README.md
index 06678822b..7de65ac92 100644
--- a/filebeat/README.md
+++ b/filebeat/README.md
@@ -130,8 +130,8 @@ as a reference. They are also used in the automated testing of this chart.
 | `deployment.securityContext`   | Configurable [securityContext][] for filebeat Deployment pod execution environment                                                                                           | see [values.yaml][]                |
 | `deployment.tolerations`       | Configurable [tolerations][] for filebeat Deployment                                                                                                                         | `[]`                               |
 | `replicas`                     | The replica count for the Filebeat deployment                                                                                                                                | `1`                                |
-| `extraContainers`              | Templatable string of additional containers to be passed to the `tpl` function                                                                                               | `""`                               |
-| `extraInitContainers`          | Templatable string of additional containers to be passed to the `tpl` function                                                                                               | `""`                               |
+| `extraContainers`              | Templatable string of additional containers to be passed to the `tpl` function                                                                                               | `[]`                               |
+| `extraInitContainers`          | Templatable string of additional containers to be passed to the `tpl` function                                                                                               | `[]`                               |
 | `fullnameOverride`             | Overrides the full name of the resources. If not set the name will default to " `.Release.Name` - `.Values.nameOverride or .Chart.Name` "                                    | `""`                               |
 | `hostPathRoot`                 | Fully-qualified [hostPath][] that will be used to persist filebeat registry data                                                                                             | `/var/lib`                         |
 | `imagePullPolicy`              | The Kubernetes [imagePullPolicy][] value                                                                                                                                     | `IfNotPresent`                     |
diff --git a/filebeat/templates/daemonset.yaml b/filebeat/templates/daemonset.yaml
index 54bfa70b0..3c889f347 100644
--- a/filebeat/templates/daemonset.yaml
+++ b/filebeat/templates/daemonset.yaml
@@ -196,6 +196,13 @@ spec:
 {{ toYaml (.Values.extraVolumeMounts | default .Values.daemonset.extraVolumeMounts ) | indent 8 }}
         {{- end }}
       {{- if .Values.extraContainers }}
+      # Currently some extra blocks accept strings
+      # to continue with backwards compatibility this is being kept
+      # whilst also allowing for yaml to be specified too.
+      {{- if eq "string" (printf "%T" .Values.extraContainers) }}
 {{ tpl .Values.extraContainers . | indent 6 }}
+      {{- else }}
+{{ toYaml .Values.extraContainers | indent 6 }}
+      {{- end }}
       {{- end }}
 {{- end }}
diff --git a/filebeat/templates/deployment.yaml b/filebeat/templates/deployment.yaml
index a8fd82649..aedd738b4 100644
--- a/filebeat/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/filebeat/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -152,6 +152,13 @@ spec:
 {{ toYaml ( .Values.extraVolumeMounts | default .Values.deployment.extraVolumeMounts ) | indent 8 }}
         {{- end }}
       {{- if .Values.extraContainers }}
+      # Currently some extra blocks accept strings
+      # to continue with backwards compatibility this is being kept
+      # whilst also allowing for yaml to be specified too.
+      {{- if eq "string" (printf "%T" .Values.extraContainers) }}
 {{ tpl .Values.extraContainers . | indent 6 }}
+      {{- else }}
+{{ toYaml .Values.extraContainers | indent 6 }}
+      {{- end }}
       {{- end }}
 {{- end }}
diff --git a/filebeat/values.yaml b/filebeat/values.yaml
index c3c6a66ca..a63bd354e 100644
--- a/filebeat/values.yaml
+++ b/filebeat/values.yaml
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ deployment:
 # Replicas being used for the filebeat deployment
 replicas: 1
 
-extraContainers: ""
+extraContainers: []
 # - name: dummy-init
 #   image: busybox
 #   command: ['echo', 'hey']