Neil Dudgeon is renowned amongst TV fans for his role as DCI John Barnaby on Midsomer Murders.
The 61-year-old joined the popular ITV programme in 2010 when he replaced John Nettles in the lead role.
The actor has now appeared in over 50 episodes of the detective drama where he investigates murders in the English countryside.
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In the show, John leads a settled life away from his detective duties as he is happily married to Sarah Barnaby and they welcomed a child at the end of series 16.
Away from the screen, Neil leads a similarly harmonious life as he is married to BBC radio producer Mary Peate.
The couple share two children together and gave an insight into their relationship during an episode of All Star Mr and Mrs.
Mary gushed over her husband when host Phillip Schofield asked which fictional detective her husband was most like in real life.
She said: “None of them are very lovely are they, not nearly lovely enough for you darling.”
Neil hails from Doncaster and received his first acting credit in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears.
He has since built up a varied career which has involved roles in famous shows such as Casualty, London's Burning and Lovejoy.
Neil even had a cameo in the iconic Bridget Jones film series as he was the taxi driver at the end of The Edge of Reason in 2004.
The TV star is now most recognised by fans as the fictional crime buster and he opened up on how he was once forced to confront a gang of criminals in real life.
Neil was in his late 20s and had been out with fellow actor John Hannah when he was approached.
He told the Mirror : “We were in South London and these lads appeared in front of us. I remember I bumped into this guy and I said ‘Oh I’m sorry…’ and realised he was muttering.
"I said ‘What? You want my money? You’re mugging us? You’ve got the bare-faced….’ I screamed in this guy’s face. I thought if ever I got mugged I’d kind of go ‘Oh take it, take it…but I didn’t. I went the other way.
“Next thing I remember was John over me saying ‘Dudge, are you alright?’ With me on the floor coming round going ‘Where are they?’ A mate of his had bottled me. They’d run off. I created a diversion so they could escape.
“So they didn’t get any money or anything. Then, I don’t know what we were thinking of… but we then thought: ‘We’re going to get them…’ so we went after them into this high-rise estate shouting for this gang. We were now really in hostile territory… [then we thought] maybe we should go home.”
Neil was propelled to stardom after he took over the role in Midsomer Murders in 2010, but he is still not used to being recognised.
According to The Express, he told the Radio Times "It was really weird. You’re walking along thinking, ‘What time will I go to football?’ and someone says, ‘You’re Barnaby!’ And you go, ‘Oh, no, I’m not'.
“You forget who you are in the eyes of other people.
"When you encounter that, it jolts you. It’s quite a dislocated sensation."
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