Midsomer Murders

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Midsomer Murders is a hugely popular British television series about murders that take place in the fictional English county of Midsomer. Based on a series of crime novels by the author Caroline Graham, the detective drama focuses on the main character of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, played by actor John Nettles (of Bergerac fame). First transmitted in the United Kingdom in March 1997, filming has recently ended on the ninth series of the programme bringing the total number of episodes produced to fifty-one. These episodes attract extremely large viewing figures within the UK, currently averaging around nine million. Although the show's death rate is remarkably high, with each episode averaging at least three murders, the feature length drama is of the highest quality and attracts a number of well-known actors from the stage and screen in guest-starring roles. The majority of the early episodes were written by the writer and author Anthony Horowitz, who, together with the original producers Betty Willingale and Brian True-May, also created the series. Today, current writers include Douglas Watkinson, David Hoskins, Peter J. Hammond and Andrew Payne. Filming of the series takes place in the English counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (often in Long Crendon), Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey, and, owing to its huge success, the series has been sold all over the world, including the United States, Latin America, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, and New Zealand.

Contents

1 Episodes
2 Cast

2.0.1 Main cast
2.0.2 Guest stars

3 References
4 Locations
5 External links

Episodes

So far, forty-seven episodes have been broadcast in the United Kingdom. These are the episodes, listed in production order, and the date of their first UK broadcast.

Pilot episode: (filmed September/October 1996)

The Killings at Badger's Drift 23 March, 1997; Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, Directed by Jeremy Silberston

Series 1: (filmed July – November 1997)

Written in Blood 22 March, 1998; Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, Directed by Jeremy Silberston
Death in Disguise 6 May, 1998; Screenplay by Douglas Watkinson, Directed by Baz Taylor
Death of a Hollow Man 29 March, 1998; Screenplay by Caroline Graham, Directed by Jeremy Silberston
Faithful Unto Death 22 April, 1998; Screenplay by Douglas Watkinson, Directed by Baz Taylor

Series 2: (filmed May – October 1998)

Strangler's Wood 3 February, 1999; Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, Directed by Jeremy Silberston
Blood Will Out 19 September, 1999; Screenplay by Douglas Watkinson, Directed by Moira Armstrong
Death's Shadow 20 January, 1999; Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, Directed by Jeremy Silberston
Beyond the Grave 5 February, 2000; Screenplay by Douglas Watkinson, Directed by Moira Armstrong

Series 3: (filmed May – October 1999)

Dead Man's Eleven 12 September, 1999; Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, Directed by Jeremy Silberston
Blue Herrings 22 January, 2000; Screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, Directed by Peter Smith
Judgement Day 29 January, 2000; Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, Directed by Jeremy Silberston
Death of a Stranger 31 December, 1999; Screenplay by Douglas Livingstone, Directed by Peter Creegen

Series 4: (filmed May – November 2000)

Garden of Death 10 September, 2000; Screenplay by Christopher Russell, Directed by Peter Smith
Destroying Angel 26 August, 2001; Screenplay by David Hoskins, Directed by David Tucker
The Electric Vendetta 2 September, 2001; Screenplay by Terry Hodgkinson, Directed by Peter Smith
Who Killed Cock Robin? 9 September, 2001; Screenplay by Jeremy Paul, Directed by David Tucker
Dark Autumn 16 September, 2001; Screenplay by Peter J. Hammond, Directed by Jeremy Silberston

Series 5: (filmed April – October 2001)

Tainted Fruit 23 September, 2001; Screenplay by David Hoskins, Directed by Peter Smith
Ring out your Dead 15 September, 2002; Screenplay by Christopher Russell, Directed by Sarah Hellings
Murder on St. Malley's Day 22 September, 2002; Screenplay by Andrew Payne, Directed by Peter Smith
Market for Murder 2 June, 2002; Screenplay by Andrew Payne, Directed by Sarah Hellings
A Worm in the Bud 23 June, 2002; Screenplay by Michael Russell, Directed by David Tucker

Series 6: (filmed May – November 2002)

A Talent for Life 3 January, 2003; Screenplay by David Hoskins, Directed by Sarah Hellings
Death and Dreams 10 January, 2003; Screenplay by Peter J. Hammond, Directed by Peter Smith
Painted in Blood 17 January, 2003; Screenplay by Andrew Payne, Directed by Sarah Hellings
A Tale of Two Hamlets 24 January, 2003; Screenplay by Alan Plater, Directed by Peter Smith
Birds of Prey 31 January, 2003; Screenplay by Michael Russell, Directed by Jeremy Silberston

Series 7: (filmed May 2003 – March 2004)

The Green Man 2 November, 2003; Screenplay by Michael Russell, Directed by Sarah Hellings
Bad Tidings 4 January, 2004; Screenplay by Peter J. Hammond, Directed by Peter Smith
The Fisher King 11 January, 2004; Screenplay by Isabelle Grey, Directed by Richard Holthouse
Sins of Commission 18 January, 2004; Screenplay by Elizabeth-Anne Wheal, Directed by Peter Smith
The Maid in Splendour 27 January, 2004; Screenplay by Andrew Payne, Directed by Richard Holthouse
The Straw Woman 29 February, 2004; Screenplay by Jeff Dodds, Directed by Sarah Hellings
Ghosts of Christmas Past 25 December, 2004; Screenplay by David Hoskins, Directed by Renny Rye

Series 8: (filmed May 2004 – March 2005)

Things That Go Bump in the Night 10 October, 2004; Screenplay by Peter J. Hammond, Directed by Peter Smith
Dead in the Water 17 October 2004; Screenplay by Douglas Watkinson, Directed by Renny Rye
Orchis Fatalis 9 January, 2005; Screenplay by Terry Hodgkinson, Directed by Peter Smith
Bantling Boy 16 January, 2005; Screenplay by Steve Trafford, Directed by Sarah Hellings
Second Sight 23 January, 2005; Screenplay by Tony Etchells, Directed by Richard Holthouse
Hidden Depths 13 March, 2005; Screenplay by David Hoskins, Directed by Sarah Hellings
Sauce for the Goose 3 April, 2005; Screenplay by Andrew Payne, Directed by Renny Rye
Midsomer Rhapsody 2 October, 2005; Screenplay by Richard Cameron, Directed by Richard Holthouse

Series 9: (filmed May 2005 – March 2006)

The House in the Woods 9 October, 2005; Screenplay by Barry Simner, Directed by Peter Smith
Dead Letters 26 February, 2006; Screenplay by Peter J. Hammond, Directed by Renny Rye
Vixen's Run 5 March, 2006; Screenplay by Michael Aitkens, Directed by Peter Smith
Down Among the Dead Men 12 March, 2006; Screenplay by Douglas Watkinson, Directed by Renny Rye
Four Funerals and a Wedding TBC; Directed by Sarah Hellings
Country Matters TBC; Directed by Richard Holthouse
Death In Chorus TBC; Directed by Sarah Hellings
Last Year's Model TBC; Directed by Richard Holthouse

Cast

Main cast

John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (47 episodes)
Daniel Casey as Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy (29 episodes)
John Hopkins as Detective Sergeant Daniel Scott (14 episodes)
Jason Hughes as Detective Constable Ben Jones (4 episodes)
Jane Wymark as Joyce Barnaby (47 episodes)
Laura Howard as Cully Barnaby (30 episodes)
Barry Jackson as Doctor George Bullard (38 episodes)

Guest stars

Midsomer Murders has enjoyed many famed British and international actors in its cast. Some of the more notable are listed below.

Julian Glover, Emily Mortimer, Jonathan Firth, Elizabeth Spriggs, Rosalie Crutchley and Renee Asherson, in "The Killings at Badger's Drift"
Anna Massey, Joanna David, Una Stubbs and David Troughton, in "Written in Blood"
Judy Cornwell, Miles Anderson, Michael Feast and Charles Kay, in "Death in Disguise"
Bernard Hepton, Debra Stephenson, Janine Duvitski, Angela Pleasence and Nicholas Le Prevost, in "Death of a Hollow Man"
Michele Dotrice, Peter Jones, Rosalind Ayres, Roger Allam and Tessa Peake-Jones, in "Faithful Unto Death"
Phyllis Logan, Frank Windsor, Anne Stallybrass, Trudie Styler and Jeremy Clyde, in "Strangler's Wood"
Honeysuckle Weeks, Phyllida Law, Elizabeth Garvie, John Duttine and Kevin McNally, in "Blood Will Out"
Richard Briers, Judy Parfitt, Anna Cropper, Vivian Pickles and Julian Wadham, in "Death's Shadow"
Prunella Scales, Cheryl Campbell, Sylvestra Le Touzel, David Robb and Patricia Brake, in "Beyond the Grave"
Robert Hardy, Imelda Staunton, Duncan Preston, Terence Rigby, Anthony Calf and Annabelle Apsion, in "Dead Man's Eleven"
Phyllis Calvert, Geoffrey Bayldon, Nigel Davenport, Mary Wimbush and Gudrun Ure, in "Blue Herrings"
Orlando Bloom, Marsha Fitzalan, Hannah Gordon, Josephine Tewson, Timothy West, Moray Watson and Maggie Steed, in "Judgement Day"
Richard Johnson, James Bolam, Simon McBurney and Diane Fletcher, in "Death of a Stranger"
Belinda Lang, Sarah Alexander, Frederick Treves, Margaret Tyzack, Victoria Hamilton and Neil Dudgeon, in "Garden of Death"
Samantha Bond, Rosemary Leach, Tom Ward, Robert Lang and Tony Haygarth, in "Destroying Angel"
John Woodvine, Alec McCowen, Kenneth Colley, Patrick Baladi and Ursula Howells, in "The Electric Vendetta"
Ian McNeice, Jane Lapotaire, Linda Marlowe and Yolanda Vazquez, in "Who killed Cock Robin?"
Celia Imrie, Gillian Kearney, Robert Glenister, Nicky Henson and Alan Howard, in "Dark Autumn"
Ann Bell, Adrian Rawlins, Claire Price, Lucy Punch, John McGlynn, Eleanor David and Benjamin Whitrow, in "Tainted Fruit"
Gemma Jones, Hugh Bonneville, Gwen Taylor, Graham Crowden and Clare Holman, in "Ring Out Your Dead"
Jane How, Anna Maxwell Martin and Jeremy Child, in "Murder on St. Malley's Day"
Jesse Birdsall, Dilys Laye, Anton Rodgers, Angela Thorne, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Caroline Harker and Serena Gordon, in "Market for Murder"
Wendy Craig, Ian Hogg, Emily Joyce and Adam Kotz, in "A Worm in the Bud"
Honor Blackman, Amanda Root, Jeff Rawle, Susan Wooldridge, James Hazeldine and Philip Franks, in "A Talent for Life"
Isla Blair and Jan Ravens, in "Death and Dreams"
Leslie Phillips, John Sessions, Clive Merrison, Denise Black and Andrew Lancel, in "Painted in Blood"
Beth Goddard, Phoebe Nicholls, Ronald Pickup and Anne Reid, in "A Tale of Two Hamlets"
Richard Todd, David Calder, Rosalind Knight, Alexandra Gilbreath, Anton Lesser and Kate Buffery, in "Birds of Prey"
Cherie Lunghi, Henry Cavill, David Bradley and Tim Woodward, in "The Green Man"
John Standing, Helen Grace, Esther Hall and Ruth Jones, in "Bad Tidings"
Lynda Bellingham, Malcolm Tierney, Jim Carter, Susannah Doyle, Henry Ian Cusick and Nicholas Rowe, in "The Fisher King"
Stella Gonet, Rachel Bell, Susan Engel and Emma Buckley, in "Sins of Commission"
William Gaunt, Freddie Jones, Raymond Coulthard and Frances Tomelty, in "The Maid in Splendour"
Keith Barron, Jemima Rooper, Maggie O'Neill and Richenda Carey, in "The Straw Woman"
Margery Mason, Alice Patten, Philip Quast, Hadyn Gwynne, Mel Martin and Kevin Doyle, in "Ghosts of Christmas Past"
Dearbhla Molloy and Julian Curry, in "Things That Go Bump in the Night"
Diana Quick, Adrian Lukis and Janet Brown, in "Dead in the Water"
John Nettleton and Harriet Walter, in "Orchis Fatalis"
Caroline Blakiston, Anna Wilson-Jones, Julia Ford and Richard O'Callaghan, in "Bantling Boy"
Wanda Ventham, Geoffrey Whitehead and Owen Teale, in "Second Sight"
Oliver Ford Davies, Sara Kestelman and Robert Daws, in "Hidden Depths"
Annette Crosbie, James Fleet, David Ross, Lizzy McInnerny and Geraldine Alexander, in "Sauce for the Goose"
June Whitfield, Frank Middlemass, David Burke, Oliver Cotton, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Peacock, in "Midsomer Rhapsody"
George Baker, David Westhead and Ruth Gemmell, in "The House in the Woods"
Simon Callow, David Bamber, Tom Georgeson, Caroline Goodall and Sophie Thompson, in "Dead Letters"
Joss Ackland, Sian Phillips, Sheila Ruskin and Leslie Schofield, in "Vixen's Run"
Paul Freeman, Sam Kelly, Julia McKenzie, Christine Kavanagh and Dermot Crowley, in "Down Among the Dead Men"

References

Caroline Graham, "The Killing at Badger's Drift", 1987.
Caroline Graham, "Death of a Hollow Man", 1989.
Caroline Graham, "Death in Disguise", 1993.
Caroline Graham, "Written in Blood", 1995.
Caroline Graham, "Faithful unto Death", 1998.
Caroline Graham, "A Place of Safety", 1999.
Caroline Graham, "A Ghost in the Machine", 2004.
Jeff Evans, "Midsomer Murders: The Making of An English Crime Classic", 2003.

In January 2006, Midsomer Murders started a DVD & Magazine Collection, available at newsagents in the UK.

Locations

1. Adwell, Oxfordshire (1)

2. Aldbury, Hertfordshire (1)

3. Amersham, Buckinghamshire (5)

4. Aston, Berkshire (1)

5. Ballinger Common, Buckinghamshire (1)

6. Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire (10)

7. Beckley, Oxfordshire (1)

8. Beer, Devon (1)

9. Bledlow, Buckinghamshire (9)

10. Bosham, Sussex (1)

11. Botanical Gardens, Oxford (1)

12. Bracknell, Berkshire (?)

13. Bray, Berkshire (1)

14. Brighton, Sussex (1)

15. Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire (3)

16. Brill, Buckinghamshire (1)

17. Bushey, Hertfordshire (5)

18. Cadsden, Buckinghamshire (1)

19. Cambridge (1)

20. Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire (1)

21. Chalgrove, Oxfordshire (1)

22. Chenies, Buckinghamshire (3)

23. Chesham, Buckinghamshire (3)

24. Chipperfield, Buckinghamshire (2)

25. Christmas Common, Oxfordshire (1)

26. Crocker End, Oxfordshire (2)

27. Cuddington, Buckinghamshire (5)

28. Cookham, Berkshire (1)

29. Danesfield, Buckinghamshire (1)

30. Daneway, Gloucestershire (1)

31. Denham, Buckinghamshire (1)

32. Dinton, Buckinghamshire (2)

33. Dorchester, Oxfordshire (5)

34. Dorney, Berkshire (2)

35. Egham, Surrey (1)

36. Ewelme, Oxfordshire (1)

37. Fawley, Oxfordshire (?)

38. Frieth, Buckinghamshire (1)

39. Flaunden, Buckinghamshire (1)

40. Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire (3)

41. Great Hampton, Buckinghamshire (?)

42. Great Haseley, Oxfordshire (6)

43. Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire (1)

44. Haddenham, Buckinghamshire (8)

45. Halton, Buckinghamshire (1)

46. Hambleden, Buckinghamshire (3)

47. Harefield, Hertfordshire (1)

48. Harpsden, Oxfordshire (2)

49. Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire (3)

50. High Barnet, Hertfordshire (1)

51. Ibstone, Buckinghamshire (2)

52. Ipsden, Oxfordshire (2)

53. Islip, Oxfordshire (1)

54. Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire (9)

55. Latimer, Buckinghamshire (1)

56. Lee, Buckinghamshire (5)

57. Ley Hill, Buckinghamshire (?)

58. Lewknor, Oxfordshire (2)

59. Little Haseley, Oxfordshire (4)

60. Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire (4)

61. Little Milton, Oxfordshire (2)

62. Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire (5)

63. Littlewick Green, Berkshire (4)

64. Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire (8)

65. Lower Assendon, Oxfordshire (1)

66. Maidenhead, Berkshire (1)

67. Mapledurham, Berkshire (1)

68. Marlow, Buckinghamshire (1)

69. Mill End, Buckinghamshire (1)

70. Monks Risborough, Buckinghamshire (1)

71. Moulsford, Oxfordshire (1)

72. Nether Winchendon, Buckinghamshire (3)

73. Nettlebed, Oxfordshire (2)

74. Newington, Oxfordshire (2)

75. North Stoke, Oxfordshire (1)

76. Owlswick, Buckinghamshire (1)

77. Oxford, Oxfordshire (2)

78. Pednor, Buckinghamshire (1)

79. Penn, Buckinghamshire (1)

80. Penn Street, Buckinghamshire (1)

81. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire (1)

82. Quainton, Buckinghamshire (2)

83. Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire (?)

84. Remenham, Oxfordshire (1)

85. Rockwell End, Buckinghamshire (1)

86. Rotherfield Greys, Buckinghamshire (1)

87. Rotherfield Peppard, Buckinghamshire (1)

88. Shabbington, Oxfordshire (1)

89. South Stoke, Oxfordshire (2)

90. Stadhampton, Oxfordshire (?)

91. Stanton St. John, Oxfordshire (2)

92. Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire (1)

93. Stoke Row, Oxfordshire (1)

94. Stoke Talmage, Buckinghamshire (1)

95. Stonor, Oxfordshire (5)

96. Swallowfield, Berkshire (1)

97. Taplow, Berkshire (1)

98. Tetsworth, Oxfordshire (?)

99. Thame, Buckinghamshire (5)

100. Towersey, Oxfordshire (?)

101. Turville, Buckinghamshire (3)

102. Twyford, Berkshire (1)

103. Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire (1)

104. Wallingford, Oxfordshire (7)

105. Warborough, Oxfordshire (5)

106. Waterstock, Oxfordshire (1)

107. Watlington, Oxfordshire (7)

108. Westlington, Buckinghamshire (2)

109. Wexham, Buckinghamshire (?)

110. Winchmore Hill, Buckinghamshire (?)

111. Windsor, Berkshire (1)

113. Worminghall, Oxfordshire (2)

Thanks to [Aurelien Hayman] and [Joan Street]

External links

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