Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama[1] that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on Caroline Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz.
From the pilot episode on 23 March 1997 until 2 February 2011 the lead character, DCI Tom Barnaby, was portrayed by John Nettles.
In February 2009 it was announced that Nettles had decided to leave Midsomer Murders after the conclusion of series 13 in July 2010. When his last episode "Fit for Murder" aired on 2 February 2011, Nettles had appeared in 81 episodes.[2] [3]
Since 2011 the lead character has been DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon), who permanently joined the show following John Nettles' 2011 departure. He is the younger cousin of DCI Tom Barnaby. Like his cousin, John Barnaby works for Causton CID.
As of 10 November 2024, 136 episodes have aired on ITV over 23 series in the UK, whilst a total of 140 episodes have been released (e.g., via streaming in some countries) over 24 series. Air dates may vary from region to region. IMDb lists differing dates; for example, S24 E01 ("The Devil’s Work"), is listed as airing on Nov 10, 2023.[4]
| Character | Actor/Actress | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCI John Barnaby | Series 13–present | ||
| Sarah Barnaby | Series 14–present | ||
| Betty Barnaby | Isabel Shaw | Series 20–present | |
| DS Jamie Winter | Nick Hendrix | Series 19–present | |
| Dr. Fleur Perkins | Series 20–present |
| Character | Actor/Actress | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCI Tom Barnaby | Series 1–13 | ||
| Joyce Barnaby | Series 1–13 | ||
| Cully Barnaby | Series 1–13 | ||
| Dr. George Bullard | Series 1–14 | ||
| DS Gavin Troy | Series 1–7 | ||
| DS Dan Scott | Series 7–8 | ||
| DS Ben Jones | Series 9–15 | ||
| DC Gail Stephens | Series 10–13 | ||
| Dr. Kate Wilding | Tamzin Malleson | Series 14–17 | |
| DS Charlie Nelson | Series 16–18 | ||
| Betty Barnaby | Abbie and Georgia Mukleen | Series 16–19 | |
| Dr. Kam Karimore | Series 18–19 |