Midsomer Murders' Neil Dudgeon says 'they won't want me' as he opens up on being replaced

Daily Mirror

11 hours ago

Neil Dudgeon has played Detective John Barnaby on Midsomer Murders since 2011
Midsomer Murders makes its return this evening with a repeat showing of the beloved ITV series.
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Tonight's episode, entitled The Debt of Lies from series 23, will feature Neil Dudgeon reprising his role as Detective John Barnaby.
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Alongside him, Detective Sergeant Jamie Winter, portrayed by Nick Hendrix, will also grace our screens once more.
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The episode's plot summary states: "When the latest resident of a police retirement community is found dead, the tight-knit group regards a murder on their doorstep as both an affront and a challenge."
Whilst devoted viewers await fresh instalments of Midsomer Murders, Neil recently tackled speculation about his departure from the programme and revealed when the series would return to television, reports the Express.
Neil became part of the cast in 2011, stepping into the shoes of John Nettles, who portrayed the original chief detective, Tom Barnaby.
Speaking to Radio Times, the performer confessed he would carry on playing the detective until the programme's executives decided to give him "the hook."
Discussing his future as the show's protagonist, Neil remarked, "No, I assume that at some point I'll get the hook. You know, the hook will all come and sort of drag me off into the wings, and they won't want me anymore.
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"But they haven't done it yet, so I'm going to keep going to work until I get the hook."
In a separate Radio Times chat, Neil opened up about his early worries regarding succeeding John Nettles as the principal detective.
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He revealed, "It was hard at the beginning because John had done it for 14 years
"If they'd cancelled me after one series, that would have been embarrassing! It gets easier, but I try to keep it fresh. Even if I've gone through the script 50 times, I'll look at it again and have another thought. It's still extremely pleasant and I'm extremely grateful."
The actor who plays John Barnaby also revealed some thrilling news about series 25, which will feature four new tales.
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Although he's unsure of when the episodes will be broadcast, Neil confirmed that filming kicked off in March this year.
'I don't know when it's next being broadcast, but we start filming again at the end of March for season 25, so it goes on," he declared.
"We've had a year off this year. We didn't film this year, but last year. But we are filming again this year. We're filming four new stories from March this year."
Midsomer Murders is back tonight at 8pm on ITV.