© ITV Pic/Mark Bourdillon
MIDSOMER MURDERS
LAST
MAN OUT
JASON
HUGHES INTERVIEW
© ITV Pic/Mark Bourdillon
Upon his return to Midsomer Murders, Jason Hughes was pleased to learn that the episode in which he guest stars involves one of his favourite sports. Once an accomplished cricketer, Jason reveals a low but defining moment of his sporting life, which lead to his career on screen.
'I used to
play cricket for my county, Glamorgan, from under 12's - under 16's
and then I got into girls, partying and drama and the county cricket
fell a bit by the wayside. There was a moment where 14 boys were
selected from all over the country and 12 of us were going to
Australia for three months to play, learn more about cricket and gain
some experience. We all went to this centre of excellence in Cardiff
and I was one of two who wasn't picked to go and that hit me quite
hard. I took it to heart and it was then that I decided to pursue drama.'
Returning for
the first time back to Midsomer Murders, Jason was very pleased to
find out his character Jones was no longer a Sergeant.
'Jones has
gone away and made his way in the world not under the wing of Barnaby
and has obviously done very well for himself as they have given him a
promotion! He has moved through the ranks and is Detective Inspector
Jones now!'
Merging his
love for cricket with his talent for acting, Jason explains a little
about the episode in which he stars.
'Jones is sent
to Midsomer to investigate their new cricket tournament which also
happens to be the setting for Barnaby's current investigation and it
seems the two separate cases might be connected.'
Jason reveals
that despite spending seven years solving murders in Midsomer,
returning for the first time since leaving was a little daunting.
'I was nervous
before I started because I wasn't sure what it would be like to come
back to something after being away from it for so long. It helped
enormously that everybody was so welcoming and so happy to see me
back for an episode - that was very touching. The longer I was there
and the more I was around everybody the more relaxed and comfortable
I became and as a result I thoroughly enjoyed it.
'It was nice
being on the other side, seeing it all from a different angle. It was
like pointing a camera and then someone tapping you on the shoulder
and asking if you have seen it from a new, different angle and you
step back and think oh my it looks completely different from here! So
it was a very interesting mixture of something that was so familiar
yet different.'
Whilst
returning to Midsomer was initially nerve wracking, working alongside
his old partner in crime, Neil Dudgeon (DCI Barnaby) was an absolute
treat for Jason.
'I love Neil;
I have such a soft spot for him. He is a wonderful man; he is so
intelligent, bright and funny and one of the easiest people I have
had the pleasure of working with. He is very open and willing to try
anything and always comes up with some great suggestions. He always
thinks things through and has a great overall picture of what the
whole is about and it is just such a great pleasure to work with
actors like that because they are very giving. I always love working
with Neil and I'm glad to see he hasn't changed or become too grand!
He is very humble and it is so nice to be around someone with such humility.'
Jason explains
what he thinks makes Midsomer such a special and much-loved show.
'The fans. The
show is incredibly well supported and loved by a lot of people all
around the world and I think that is why it is still popular, because
people still support it. I think there is a mutual respect going on
as the people who watch it have a respect for the show in the same
way the show has respect for its audience and that is a winning combination.
'Another of
Midsomer's successes is that it is well-constructed, well-shot and
well-acted, understated when it needs to be and eccentric when it
needs to be. They have very talented writers. It is difficult to
write and construct a murder mystery like that and to keep coming up
with inventive ways of telling that genre story and so they are very
fortunate to source fantastic writers who are able to execute that
genre as well as they do. So it's success is two fold; a team of
people making something very well and people watching it and
appreciating it for what it is and continuing to support it.'