Neil Dudgeon has a theory about why Midsomer Murders is still going strong after 27 years. It’s because his character, DCI John Barnaby, is so unremarkable.
Before Midsomer, Neil had starred in plenty of police dramas including The Mrs Bradley Mysteries with Diana Rigg and Messiah opposite Ken Stott, but he believes Midsomer broke the mould.
‘Barnaby’s the boring one, which I love!’ says Neil, 63. ‘I’d done shows where the policemen were all mavericks – rowing with their bosses, breaking the rules.
‘When Betty Willingale co-created Midsomer she wanted to do a police series that didn’t have a maverick. Barnaby has become the maverick detective because he’s the only one who’s not a maverick.’
In contrast to so many TV coppers, Barnaby enjoys a happy marriage (to Sarah, played by Fiona Dolman) and is untroubled by personal demons.
Neil Hendrix and Neil Dudgeon as DS Winter and Barnaby in Midsomer Murders
That’s allowed the evergreen drama to spin bizarre storylines involving crashed UFOs, a man eaten alive by a wild boar and death by a falling wheel of cheese. ‘Line Of Duty wouldn’t touch any of these things,’ laughs Neil.
‘They haven’t got the b***s for it. You don’t need a maverick detective in the midst of all that. You need a calm centre of thoughtful integrity. A man who knows where he stands.’
That describes DCI John Barnaby to a T. He’s been the lead cop since John Nettles retired as his cousin DCI Tom Barnaby in 2011, and now he’s back for two more episodes from the 23rd series, with the final one to be shown later this year.
In the first, The Debt Of Lies, Barnaby and sidekick DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) tackle the murder of a detective chief superintendent in her gated community of retired detectives. Police conclude the killer must have been one of them.
But Barnaby is uneasy, and adding to that is the fact that his old boss, former DI Sebastian Cabot, is among the suspects. He’s played by Scottish acting legend Tom Conti, 82.
Sarah Barnaby (FIONA DOLMAN) and DCI John Barnaby (NEIL DUDGEON)
Next week’s episode, A Grain Of Truth, sees Nick tackle an impressive stunt in a tale about trendy bakers who’ve revamped a historic watermill.
In one terrifying scene, an unconscious victim is tied to a rope dragging him to the giant water turbine, forcing Winter to leap into the millpond to attempt a rescue.
‘It was one of those stunts where I thought, “This will be no big deal; I’m a pretty competent swimmer”,’ says Nick, 39.
‘But it was really, really hard work. By the end of it we were both shattered, but I think we pulled it off. I hope it’s going to look good.’
- Midsomer Murders season 23, Tuesday, 8.15pm, ITV1.