MIDSOMER MURDERS

NEWS 'ARCHIVE'

MAY 2009

It is hoped that new episodes will be shown by ITV in the summer. As soon as I have confirmed transmission dates I will add details to the site. Work on Series 12 has now been completed and filming for Series 13 - John's final one - will start in June.

Daniel Casey (ex Troy!) has been busy in the theatre again appearing in A Number at the Manchester Library Theatre and Laura Howard (Cully) has been touring in a production of Look Back in Anger

MARCH 2009

MIDSOMER RETURNS TO THE USA!!
US fans will be pleased to learn that Midsomer is set to return to the States at long last! The series has been bought by APT (American Public Television) for syndication in American and will be shown by PBS stations from May 2009. Initially it is to be screened right from the beginning, starting with the pilot episode 'The Killings at Badger's Drift'. Each story will be shown in 2 parts. The license is only for 4 episodes so far but fingers crossed that this will be extended. As soon as I have any more information I'll post details here.

LAURA HOWARD TREADING THE BOARDS AGAIN
Laura Howard is currently treading the boards again in a touring production of 'Look Back in Anger' by John Osborne. Co-star's include ex Coronation Street's Bill Ward, Nia Gwynne, Rob Storr and Robert East. Click here for further details.

JOHN NETTLES - NEW PROJECTS

The 'Jersey Evening Post' has reported that John is planning to make a major documentary about the occupation of the Channel Islands. In view of his connection with Jersey, this island will be the main focus of the programme. John is hoping to get sponsorship from the BBC, ITV or one of the other prime U.K. TV stations. He envisages that the documentary will take around 2 years to research.

FEBRUARY 2009

JOHN NETTLES TO RETIRE FROM MIDSOMER!

After 13 years and over 200 corpses John Nettles has decided to step down from his role of DCI Barnaby. He will retire from Midsomer at the end of the 13th series. However, 'Barnaby' will be seen on our screens for some time to come yet, with his final episode being shown in 2011. To date John has filmed 71 episodes, 6 of which are still to be scheduled by ITV. His grand total will be no less than 82 cases! Quite a feat for any TV detective.

John has said 'It's the end of an era for me, and while I'm very sad to be handing in Barnaby's police badge, he has solved over 200 murders, which I think meets the targets of modern policing! I wish my successor, whoever he or she is, the very best.'

Midsomer Murders will continue into a 14th series with a new DCI at the helm. No information is available yet on who will be taking over this prestigious role, though doubtless John will be a hard act to replace.

So far the series has hired over 900 actors (50 of which have been reused at least once!) and nearly 21,000 extras! With most of Midsomer shot on location, filming days have totalled over 1,698, starting at around 7.00 a.m. and often not wrapping until 7.30 p.m. come rain or shine - with John being on set for most of these this is quite a gruelling schedule.

The pilot episode, 'The Killings at Badger's Drift' attracted 13.5 million viewers at its launch in 1997 - the highest rating single drama that year. The series regularly attracts high audiences - even repeats command healthy ratings.

TV TIMES COMPETITION - JULY 2009

The U.K. publication, 'The TV Times' are running a competition on Midsomer Murders in their issue out on sale next week, dated 25-31 July.

Up for grabs is a set visit for the winner and a friend. You’ll meet the cast who are filming that day, enjoy lunch with the crew and be chauffeur-driven along the Midsomer Murders Trail in the Chiltern Hills. What’s more, after the visit you’ll stay overnight in Danesfield House Hotel and Spa at Marlow-on-Thames (featured in the episode, Judgement Day) with dinner that evening and breakfast the next day. Ten runners-up will receive a six-DVD set of The Complete Series One and Two.

Full competition details will be in the 25th - 31st July 2009 issue.

DECEMBER 2008

Great news for Anthony Horowitz fans. He will be writing one more episode of Midsomer Murders!! Something definitely to look forward to.

Brain True-May has said: "Days of Misrule has everything you want in a Christmas film - a mysterious crime, a host of possible weird and wonderful suspects, beautiful locations, and, in Barnaby, one of the most popular TV detectives of all time. We're sure it will have a wide appeal.

"Barnaby and Jones go on manoeuvres with the TA which is very amusing, but the episode is ultimately an emotional piece because of a difficult father-son relationship. We're delighted to have the excellent Tim Pigott-Smith as a guest star."

'Days of Misrule' is just one of several new Midsomer Murders stories for fans to enjoy. A new 12th series is currently in production until March 2009. As well as high ratings on ITV1 ever since it began in 1997, the drama is also an international success story with record sales around the world, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

"We're approaching our 70th episode and already have scripts for our 13th and 14th series well underway. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards, which is what I'm sure continues to bring us excellent viewing figures at home and sales to 230 territories - that's more countries than there are in the world."

Guests stars in Series 12 will include Nicholas le Prevost, John Standing, David Bamber, Susannah Harker, Christopher Fulford, Peter Davison, Anna Massey, John Bowe, Benjamin Whitrow, Philip Jackson, David Haig, Joanna Roth, Margaret Tyzack, Abigail Thaw and Caroline Blakiston.

NEWS - NOVEMBER 2008

Laura Howard will be returning to Midsomer for a guest appearance in 'The Glitch'. It is hinted that perhaps there could be a grandchild for Barnaby!

There could also be a 14th series commissioned! Let's keep our fingers crossed! This would mean that Midsomer could indeed reach the magic 100th episode.

US viewers keen to seen more episodes will be pleased to know that a new home is still being sought for the series out there. It has been a long wait I know but unfortunately finding a new channel to host 'Midsomer' is proving a long and difficult process. As soon as any more news becomes available I will, of course, post details here.

NEWS - JUNE 2008

MIDSOMER GOES ON!
Since filming 'Blood Wedding' Brian True-May and the team have gone on to complete the 11th series and are now starting work on the 12th. Also, a 13th series has been commissioned and this will take filming into 2010!

Future episodes see Barnaby taking his investigations over to France.

Brian says "For series 12 we're planning to go to the lovely fishing port of Honfleur which doubles as a town twinned with Midsomer. We're also doing an episode set in a golf club and another which delves into art fraud".

John Nettles has said that he will keep going as long as there is a hint of an audience and as long as he can stand up! Great news for Midsomer fans!

ROYAL INTEREST
The Queen has an interest in the series too:
Brian True-May says "I met the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in November at the opening of Pinewood's new entrance. She asked me all sorts of questions and whether anyone else was going to be killed. I told her that we'd despatched around 150 victims but there were still more to go!"

John has also substantiated that the Queen is a fan.

Brian adds: "We've also been asked for some footage by the government as part of its drive to promote Britain around the world as the home of creativity and innovation. They are putting together a film to showcase the nation at the Beijing Olympics and we hope we will be part of it. I think the view of England that Midsomer Murders represents is very popular with people in other countries.

BLOOD WEDDING
The cast have some fond memories of filming Cully's wedding.

Laura Howard (Cully) remarks "The whole shooting of the episode, especially that day was lovely, slightly surreal.

John Nettles said that it was very moving taking 'Cully' up the isle. "I have a daughter too and gave her away". He found it lovely to see so many friends at the wedding and to have Daniel Casey (Troy) in Midsomer again.

Daniel Casey (Troy) was only on set for one day but Jason Hughes (DS Ben Jones) said "It was great to meet him - he was much taller than I expected. It was a lovely idea to bring Daniel back and unite the Midsomer family. It was the first time they had ever met up. He also said that he had met John Hopkins - a lovely guy. It was a shame that he couldn't have been there too.

Jane Wymark (Joyce Barnaby) loved being mother of the bride. "I don't have a daughter really but have Laura thank God"!

Everyone hopes that the newly weds will pop up again in the future.

John remarked that he poured out real scotch in this episode and that Daniel Casey had actually consumed over 3 pints of lager in one story due to the number of takes - needless to say he was somewhat inebriated afterwards!

CULLY'S NAME
John has also jokingly reiterated the story of how Cully got her name.

In our younger days we spent our honeymoon in place called Cully by Lake Geneva and it was there that Cully was conceived - and it was in relation to that experience that she got her name - and it was terrific I can tell you!

More from the world of Midsomer soon!

Provisional U.K. broadcast dates:

Sunday 6th July – Blood Wedding
Sunday 13th July – Midsomer Life
Sunday 20th July – Left for Dead
Sunday 27th July – Magician’s Nephew

Please note these are subject to change.

LATEST NEWS!

It has been reported that John Nettles is recording a new ITV series called 'John Nettles Applauds', due to be shown this summer. The series looks at the performing arts, including features on actors like Patricia Hodge and Timothy West. More on this shortly.

NEWS - APRIL 2008

'They Seek Him Here' and 'Death in a Chocolate Box' now have provisional broadcast dates on U.K. ITV1 of 20th and 27th April. Will confirm asap.

Series 11 should start on ITV1 with 'Blood Wedding' in July 2008.

Filming of series 11 has almost finished and series 12 will begin filming afterwards.

Executive Producer Brian True-May says: "The Midsomer brand is stronger than ever, thanks to our excellent leading cast and the crème of British acting talent who seem delighted to risk their lives by coming to the 'killing fields' of England. We're delighted that ITV1 has shown its faith in the drama by commissioning it into 2009 and we look forward to creating more ingenious crimes and red herrings for viewers to enjoy."

NEWS - MARCH 2008

Two new documentaries are set to hit U.K. TV screens this year:

A MAP OF MIDSOMER MURDERS - ITV3
A 60 minute programme with John Nettles exploring the locations used within the series.

SURVIVING MIDSOMER - AN INSIDERS GUIDE

As soon as I have schedule dates for these shows I'll post details to the site.

NEWS - FEBRUARY 2008

Series 10 is currently being shown on French TV. One of their national channels, France 3 is broadcasting the series on Sunday evenings.

Inspector Barnaby returns to ZDF, one of Germany's national channels, on 23rd March 2008.

NEWS - DECEMBER 2007

'Shot at Dawn' will be shown on U.K. ITV1 on New Years Day. This this should be followed by 'Death in a Chocolate Box', though an exact date has not been scheduled.

This marks the beginning of a new season of Midsomer Murders for 2008, which sees the drama-filled wedding of Barnaby's daughter Cully.

The 2008 Christmas episode, 'Days of Misrule', will be filmed at the end of January. Joseph Millson will be amongst the guest stars in this story.

FORTHCOMING EPISODES US TV - BIOGRAPHY CHANNEL

Nothing scheduled at present.

NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2007

CAST ACTIVITIES
John Nettles and Jason Hughes celebrated 10 years of Midsomer Murders at MIPCOM in Cannes in October.

John has also been busy during the filming break, fronting a documentary about the locations seen in the series. This will, hopefully, be screened by ITV next year.

Daniel Casey opened a Street Party in Hanwell, Middlesex in September. The successful event was held in the centre of town.

MIDSOMER IN THE USA
Unfortunately the US Biography Channel have not acquired any of the latest episodes of Midsomer Murders but those of you out there should not despair as a new home is being looked for in the States.

NEWS - AUGUST 2007

Daniel Casey is to appear in a future episode of 'The Royal' in which he plays the part of a character called David. The episode has not been scheduled by ITV yet. As soon as I get a date I'll post details to the site.

Unfortunately, however, ITV have decided not to show the docu-drama about the Marchioness disaster that Daniel filmed some time back. Apparently they think that it is not good enough and it has also been condemned as 'insensitive' by bereaved relatives. Luckily French viewers were fortunate enough to catch it on French TV recently though.

The last two episodes of Series 10 are currently not scheduled to be broadcast in the U.K. until Winter 2007, though, as always this is subject to change. As soon as I have any firm dates I'll add them to the site.

SERIES 12 COMMISSIONED!

Great news, Brian True-May has confirmed that Series 12 has now been commissioned!! Also, John Nettles has said he will definitely be staying with Midsomer.

Filming for Series 11 is now underway with 7 new stories being filmed this year. A further 7 will follow in 2008/2009.

George Cole and Donald Sinden are amongst the guests lined up for future episodes. There will also be another Christmas special filmed this year, written by Elizabeth-Anne Wheal (Four Funerals & A Wedding/Sins of Commission). With a working title of 'Days of mis-rule', it will be about a TA Centre.

The first series 11 episode, 'Blood Wedding', sees Cully getting married with some very special guests at her wedding. Daniel Casey (Troy) returns to Midsomer for Cully's special day along with Brian True-May and his family. Brian's grandchildren (Georgina True-May's daughters) are bridesmaids. As some of you may know, Georgina True-May used to be location manager on the series. Also, look out for some of Troy's traits being revealed again much to Barnaby's dismay!

Daniel Casey has said that he is delighted to be returning to Midsomer for the wedding and after spending a couple of days filming felt like he had never been away. John Nettles, Jane Wymark and Laura Howard all say that they really do feel like they are a family.

Daytime repeats on ITV1 will continue in due course. Two versions of the more sensitive parts of each story are now filmed to allow the more toned down versions to be shown in the afternoons.

Filming the series is a big undertaking. Each episode costs £20,000 per day to film and only 2 to 5 minutes are completed during this time. There are also around 65 crew involved in the production.

NEWS - 5TH MARCH 2007

The last episode of Series 10, 'Death in a Chocolate Box' has now been filmed. The crew are taking a break until May 2007 when filming will commence on Series 11 which will consist of 6 stories.

Series 12 has still not been commissioned. As soon as I hear any further news I will post it here.

NEWS - 9TH FEBRUARY 2007

Veteran actor Ian Richardson died suddenley in his sleep last night, aged 72. According to his agent Ian was just about to start filming a new episode of Midsomer Murders.

On a happier note, John Nettles now has a granddaughter. His daughter, Emma, gave birth to Sophie in December.

NEWS - CHRISTMAS 2006

3 new episodes will be shown on ITV1 in the New Year, commencing Friday, 19th January:
The Animal Within
The Kings Crystal
The Axeman Cometh

The Axeman Cometh introduces Cully's boyfriend, played by Sam Hazeldine. This will lead to a wedding in Midsomer, which will be filmed in the summer.

New elements for the future include locations such as Snowdonia and an episode set amongst the sailing community.

NEWS - DECEMBER 2006

Although John Nettles has no thoughts of leaving his role of Barnaby, Brian True-May is looking at a possible new project for him when he finally retires from his police role. He is considering a drama with John playing the leader of an English village during World War 2.

Brian has stressed that this will still be some years away and John is interested but it is very early days yet.

John Nettles is quite content to keep playing Barnaby for a few years yet providing it still remains a quality programme. Brian believes the series still has a lot of life in it.

At the moment John is reunited with his old Stalwart Liza Goddard for filming of a new Midsomer mystery. Liza played diamond thief Philippa Vale in the long running detective series, Bergerac, set on the island of Jersey. As many of you know Bergerac was a huge success for John.

NEWS - NOVEMBER 2006
One more new episode will be filmed this year with the final 2 episodes of Series 10 being filmed in 2007.

Filming for Series 11 will start in May 2007, however, only 6 new stories are planned. Apparently these episodes will be longer in length than the current normal running time of around 90 minutes. This is good news for fans as the stories have gradually become shorter and shorter due to the extra ad breaks on UK ITV.

NEWS AUGUST'06 - MIDSOMER CELEBRATES IT'S 50TH EPISODE!


John Nettles and Jason Hughes celebrate a half-century of sleuthing in the idyllic, yet notorious, villages of Midsomer when the series reaches its 50th film.

Regular cast members Jane Wymark, who has appeared in every film as Barnaby's wife Joyce, Laura Howard, who plays his daughter Cully, and Barry Jackson, who plays pathologist Dr Bullard, join forces to mark the television milestone, as the 50th film kicks off a series of four new episodes.

When the pilot episode, The Killings at Badger's Drift, was broadcast in March 1997, it immediately captured the imagination of the British public. The film, with its blend of beautiful village locations, eccentric country folk - and murder - attracted 13.5 million viewers, the highest rating single drama that year. Its future was guaranteed.

A decade later, John Nettles and the team are busy filming the tenth series, and it remains a jewel in ITV's crown, regularly attracting over 10 million viewers. Such is ITV's faith in the series that it is commissioned on an open-ended annual contract.

Filmed on location in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, the Chilterns and the Home Counties, the series is also a major British export around the world, with sales to over 200 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

Executive Producer, Brian True-May says "The 50th episode is a lovely one with a real feelgood factor at the end. The choir loses its choir master, Bullard takes over to win the trophy, while Barnaby ends up solving everything. Sometimes you have to indulge in a happy ending!"

"We're proud and thrilled to be transmitting our 50th film and credit should go to our excellent cast and crew, who constantly endeavour to make the production qualities better and better. Special thanks is due, of course, to John Nettles for bringing such charm and credibility to the role of Barnaby. He will surely go down in history as one of the great TV detectives."

"Although our brand is very well loved, we are always looking for new ways to make it better. We've made a conscious decision to 'recycle' actors from previous series like Miles Anderson or John Shrapnel. People look different after 10 years and we can give them completely new roles".

"We're also exploring new locations like the coastline and the latest is Snowdonia, which we'll shoot in the autumn. Cully goes on a hiking holiday with her boyfriend - which is the start of a romance which eventually leads to a big wedding in Midsomer."

Incidently, the late and great Jimmy Hazeldine, a director of some note, died suddenly and tragically a few years ago when he was coming to the golden age of his career, performing at the National. Low and behold his son Sam, who looks so much like him, is playing Cully's boyfriend.

Seems we have lots to look forward to!!

NEWS - JULY 2006

Four new stories will be screened this autumn and there will also be a collection of daytime repeats, though the latter will be edited due to being shown before the watershed. The new episodes will set a rather racey pace. It seems the genteel ladies of one of the Midsomer villages will be providing sexual services. Also, Jason Hughes has a nude scene during the 50th episode, 'Death in Chorus' where he will be seen singing in the shower!

Seems we can look forward to some interesting events when series 10, currently being filmed, hits our screens either later this year or in 2007. The wedding of Barnaby's daughter, Cully, will be filmed later this year and the crew will also venture into Snowdonia in October for the filming of Douglas Watkinson's new episode about ramblers.

For the future, Sir Roger Moore has expressed an interest in being a victim, though John Nettles isn't at all sure it is a good idea to kill off a former James Bond Star! Plans are also underway for Series 11 and 12 and you'll be pleased to know that John Nettles has said he is happy to stay whilst standards remain high.

Unfortunately some of the more brutual murders are not allowed to be shown on the small screen any more. A new episode starts with what appears to be a suicide pact in a car but the more graphic details of the murder cannot be screened.

John Nettles has also recently taken part in a new ITV Series called 'Super Sleuth' which hopefully we can look forward to seeing before so long.

'Dead Man's 11' was repeated on ITV (U.K. TV) on Saturday, 24th March.
'Blue Herrings' was repeated on ITV on Saturday, 21st April.

'Death of a Stranger' was repeated on Saturday, 31st March with a surprise. There were some extra scenes! In the original broadcast shown on Millennium Eve we see Grahame and Kate Tranter being interviewed by Barnaby - Grahame tells Barnaby that his wife was at the cinema with an old friend at the night in question. The scene then cuts to a phone conversation between Marcia and James. In the broadcast on 31st March there was just over 2 minutes extra footage between these two scenes - 'Marcia is walking in the garden with Barnaby and Troy - she talks about Kate being totally unsuitable for her son, Grahame. We then see Barnaby and Troy in the car and Troy cracks a joke. The scene finally cuts to both of them sitting in the back garden of a pub'. All this was missing from the original broadcast here in the U.K.! I guess it must have been cut out due to time restrictions on Millennium Eve.

Death in Disguise was repeated on U.K's ITV at 9.00 p.m. on Friday, 18th August 2000 and Blood Will Out on Friday, 25th August. Unfortunately both these episodes were cut by around 20-25 minutes to fit a 1½ hour time slot (including adverts)!

Series 10

Douglas Watkinson is currently writing another episode of Midsomer Murders, this time about ramblers. He has also just published a detective novel called 'Haggard Hawk'

Series 9

Bentley Productions are currently filming the 9th series of Midsomer Murders, which will mark the 50th episode filmed so far. Production on this series will carry filming through to 2006.

The 9th series will include eight completely new 2 hr films for prime time transmission on ITV 1 over the Autumn/Winter season 2005-6. Directors include Peter Smith, Renny Rye, Sarah Hellings and Richard Holthouse. Series producer is Brian True-May.

New Midsomer Murders star Jason Hughes takes up the mantle of sidekick to DCI Barnaby (John Nettles), playing DC Ben Jones. Previous sidekicks were Daniel Casey as DS Gavin Troy and John Hopkins as DS Dan Scott.

The new film Dead Letters marks the first time that guest stars have appeared twice. Elizabeth Spriggs plays Ursula Gooding, lookalike sister of the grotesque Iris Rainbird she played in the first-ever episode, The Killings at Badger's Drift, with Richard Cant returning to create the role of Alistair Gooding, cousin of vile undertaker Dennis Rainbird whom he played previously. Barnaby is convinced he has seen them somewhere before, but knows the Rainbirds were brutally murdered.

Other new guest stars include George Baker, Ruth Gemmell, David Westhead, Tom Georgeson, Tracy Brabin, Simon Callow, Caroline Goodall, who played Liam Neeson's wife in 'Shindler's List', Robin Williams' wife in 'Hook' and Anne Hatherway's mother in 'Princess Diaries' and Sophie Thompson.

George Baker, famed for his role as 'Inspector Wexford' in the Ruth Rendell Mysteries plays identical twins who try to murder each other in 'The House in the Woods'. A split screen was used for the scene in which the evil twin tries to kill his brother.

The 9th series marks a change of car for Barnaby. Previously seen at the wheel of a Rover, the setbacks facing the car company mean he now drives a Jaguar X-Type.

Bizarre and gruesome murder implements since the series began include a candlestick, a doped horse, a pitchfork, a Celtic spear, liquid nicotine, a syringe, a billhook used by woodcutters, toxic fungus, a necktie, a slide projector, a switchblade razor, a drinks cabinet, a plough, a hammer, hemlock, vintage claret, bottles of relish &ldots; and alien abduction.

In the 9th series, the settings for murder include a house that appears to be haunted by a primitive curse; the annual Oak Apple celebrations in Midsomer Barton; a hunt for the emeralds given to an ancestor of the Haddington family by Catherine the Great of Russia and a trip to the coast.

Four funerals and a wedding in the village of Midsomer Broughton where women have ruled the roost since the Great War; a tangled web of high class sexual services and planning corruption in a village threatened by a new supermarket; a perfect death in a perfect chocolate box village and the exposure of a celebrated missionary's murky past complete the new cases for Barnaby and Jones.

The pilot episode, The Killings at Badger's Drift, attracted 13.5 million viewers when it was first shown in 1997 - the highest-rating single drama in that year. The series still regularly attracts over 10 million viewers, including repeats.

Each episode takes five weeks to film and can involve as many as 120 people on set.

Midsomer Murders is now sold to over 204 countries, including the United States. It was one of the top 20 programmes of 2004 (Source: BARB)

The original title for the series was Barnaby. MIDSOMER MURDERS was suggested by scriptwriter Anthony Horowitz.

MIDSOMER AT CHRISTMAS

Midsomer Murders was given the prime slot of the year on U.K. T.V. The Festive episode 'The Ghost of Christmas Past' went out on ITV1 on Christmas Day! It was voted 2nd in the Christmas Teletext poll despite coming about 9th in the ratings.

Series producer Brian True-May said: "If the Christmas Midsomer Murders go as well, as I think they will, I hope it will become as important in the Christmas schedules as "Only Fools And Horses." He also said "We are delighted to have produced the first MIDSOMER MURDERS Christmas special. It's a family show with all the ingredients of a great festive drama. The film is about the gathering of a clan, a lot of whom haven't seen each other for a long time, with secrets starting to emerge and inevitably a horrible murder befalls one of them.

MIDSOMER MURDERS is in the top 20 programmes in the latest released BARB figures for BBC and ITV shows for 2004. The episode transmitted on 25 January 2004 attracted 10.24 million viewers! Barnaby's adventures have now been sold to no less than 150 countries worldwide!

THE SERIES GROWS EVEN STRONGER!

There are plans to make one film on location in Brittany, and perhaps one by the sea in Devon.

As the number of guest actors has now topped the 700-mark, Brian True-May has decided to have some fun by "recycling" some famous names, who will be invited back to appear in future stories. This could be an interesting exercise!

'Midsomer Murders' has also just been sold to China, giving the series an even more massive audience.

NEWS - AUGUST 2005

ZDF has now acquired an additional 14 Midsomer Murders episodes, after the successful ratings for the initial three episodes acquired. The three shows, which were broadcast during primetime on Sunday night, secured a share of more than 22 percent.

Meanwhile, ABC Australia has picked up the two most recent series and has made a commitment to future seasons. In addition, France 3 has launched the seventh and eighth seasons.

MIDSOMER NEWS - 5TH JULY 2005

ITV have reported today that they are poised to sign a deal worth more than £10m a year which could keep 'Midsomer' on our screens for years to come. Brian True-May has said that "We are doing a deal for almost permanent 'Midsomer Murders'!! The deal would include 8, two hour episodes each year plus 10 more repeats on ITV1 and more on ITV2 & 3. This would keep John Nettles in the show for at least 5 more years. Even if 'Barnaby' eventually retires the mysteries could still continue. However, Brian True-May has said that John is very fit and seems happy playing the series lead.

As previously reported John Nettles' co-star, John Hopkins will be leaving Midsomer. He "wants to move on to other roles" and is signed off sick in the series. Jason Hughes takes over as the new side-kick 'DC Ben Jones'.

There will not, however, be a 2005 Christmas episode. A new series kicks off in the Autumn.

MIDSOMER NEWS - MAY 2005

Sadly John Hopkins has left the cast of Midsomer Murders. He will be replaced in Series 9 by Jason Hughes who will play 'Jones', promoted up from Constable. Jason is best known for his role as the 'gay' character 'Warren' in the TV series 'This Life'.

Welsh/English speaking. Jason starred in 'Caligula' at The Donmar and also starred in the world premiere of D.H. Lawrence's 'Fight For Barbara' and 'Designs for Living.' He can be seen on TV later this year in a new series 'Mine All Mine' and recently narrarted a Catherine Zeta Jones documentry for a 'Brits go to Hollywood' series. He has also done the narration for several TV adverts.

Jason Hughes

John Nettles has been forced to hand back the Rover 75 he drives in Midsomer Murders after the collapse of Rover Cars. For Series 9 we will be seeing Barnaby drive a Jaguar X-type, the last of the British style saloons. John loved working with the Rover and even bought an estate version of the car for himself.

You will be pleased to know that Daniel Casey is currently filming again. He will be appearing in the series 'HEX' for Sky 1. Click here for more details.

MIDSOMER NEWS - MARCH 2005

UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERIES!

To settle the rumours about the supposed Midsomer Murders episode 'The Ghosts of Sleath' I understand that this was never proposed as a Midsomer story. Amongst the projects that 'Bentley Productions' currently have in development at the moment is a supernatural drama based on James Herbert's book 'The Ghosts of Sleath', so I believe that this is where the confusion stepped in.

Owing to the similarity in aspects of the plot to a recent real life event in the U.K. screening of 'The Blood Point' has been held back to Autumn 2005.

The final story in Series 8 'Midsomer Rhapsody' will be transmitted on ITV1 in the spring before shooting starts in May on a ninth series of eight films, which will include Midsomer Murder's 50th episode!!

'Sauce for the Goose', the penultimate episode in Series 8, contains one of the most bizarre murders ever. The victim is crushed to death with a fork lift truck and thrown naked into a 200-degree bottle sterilizer whilst on a tour of a relish factory!

Barnaby and Scott are forced to solve the case in 'Hidden Depths' from within a locked, underground wine cellar too.

Scott is also set to have a little more romance in a future episode, this time with a barmaid!

SERIES 7 - NEWS!

There were 7 episodes in this new series. Amongst the directors were Peter Smith (episodes 2 & 4), Sarah Hellings (episode 1), Richard Holthouse (he directed some Jonathan Creek stories) and Jeremy Silberston.

William Gaunt, famed for his roles in the old ITC series 'The Champions', Sgt. Cork and the 1983 comedy series 'No Place Like Home' was in 'The Maid in Splendour'.

Henry Cavill played the part of Simon Mayfield in 'The Green Man'. Amongst other roles, Henry has played the part of Albert in the 2002 version of 'The Count of Monte Cristo'.

Helen Grace was also another guest star - she is best known for her role in the soap opera 'Brookside' playing the part of Georgia Simpson.

Esther Hall also starred in an episode. She has appeared in 'Sons and Lovers' and in Series 1 of 'Spooks' playing Tom's girlfriend .

Lynda Bellingham, famed in the U.K. for playing the 'Oxo mum' in the oxo cube adverts was seen in 'The Fisher King'. Other screen credits include All Creatures Great And Small, Faith In The Future, Second Thoughts and At Home With The Braithwaites

Sadly Daniel Casey (Troy) has filmed his last scenes for Midsomer Murders. He gets promoted in the first episode of series 7 so this is how he is written out of the series. John Hopkins now plays Barnaby's new sergeant, a cockey Londoner, and is called 'Dan Scott'. For more information on John go to http://www.rada.org/grad00/hop.html.
with thanks to Anna for the additional info.

Also, Midsomer land has moved slightly for the start of Series 7. Some scenes have been filmed in Gloucestershire! This is the furthest away from their home at Pinewood Studios that the crew have ventured for the series so far.

SERIES 5

One of the writers for this series was the distinquished Alan Plater, one of the most famous British TV screenwriters alive. His previous TV credits include: 'The Beiderbecke Affair' with James Bolam, 'Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt' with Bill Maynard, 'The Barchester Chronicles' with Alan Rickman, 'Oliver's Travels' with Alan Bates, 'Frank Stubbs' with Timothy Spall and 'Last of the Blonde Bombshells' the jazz drama shown last year with Dame Judi Dench.

Apart from having written quite a few British films, he is an expert on murder and detectives having contributed to many murder mystery series over the years: Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Dalziel and Pascoe, Z Cars, Softly Softly, Maigret, Campion and Cribb.

Clare Holman (the lady pathologist in 'Inspector Morse') has recently completed filming an episode of Midsomer Murders, playing a character called Sue Tutt. Sarah Hellings directs the episode.

With thanks to Alex for all the above information

One of the new episodes from Series 5 was called 'Ring out your dead'! Gwen Taylor (currently in the sitcom 'Barbara' on ITV) is one of the actresses starring in this episode. Hugh Bonneville also appears in this story. He is currently famed for his portrayal of the young John Bayley in the film 'Iris'. Other film credits include Madame Bovary, Notting Hill and the Bond film 'Tomorrow Never Dies'

Nicholas Audsley, who has recently starred in the film 'Anne Frank : The Whole Story' appeared in 'Murder on St. Malley's Day'.

Jesse Birdsall also stars in this series. Jesse is best known for his T.V. roles in 'Bugs' and 'El Dorado'. He has also appeared in a recent T.V. series called 'Belonging II' and the films 'Getting it Right' and 'Wish you Were Here' amongst others.

With thanks to everyone who has passed on information to me.

SERIES 6

Anna Maguire filmed an episode of 'MM' directed by Peter Smith. She played a character called Ellie. She then went on to film the BBC's latest costume drama, 'Daniel Deronda' which stars Hugh Dancy, Hugh Bonneville, Edward Fox and Celia Imrie. Anna has previously worked in productions for the English National Opera, Hollywood films like 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Ever After' and the BBC's 'Wives and Daughters'.
With thanks to Alex for this information.

Also Fleur Bennett played the role of a character called Debbie Shortlands in 'Dark Autumn'. For more information on Fleur Bennett see http://StarRealm.net.actresses/FleurBennett/index.html. For information on Gillian Kearney who plays WPC Jay Nash go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GillianKearney.

JOHN NETTLES

John will be narrating a Natural World documentary on the Channel Islands to be screened on BBC2.

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