When he replaced John Nettles on screen as the lead detective in 2011, fans worried the writing could be on the wall for Midsomer Murders.
But more than a decade later Neil Dudgeon is still solving crime in what must be the most death-ridden collection of villages in the world.
Neil has played DCI John Barnaby for 12 years and will celebrate his 50th episode as lead detective tomorrow.
He reflects: “Nobody in their right mind as an actor would think: ‘I’m taking a job here for the next few months and it’ll last for 12 years or something’.
“They came along and said, ‘ ITV have commissioned four with you…’ I thought four gives you a bit of time to play your way in. And they upped it to eight before we started shooting. I thought: ‘Oh, well, this is great. We’ve got eight and that’ll be a lot of fun. I’ve got a job for a bit’.
“But when you get the recommission for another series, you do kind of feel like the faith and the trust of the people who had given me the job has been repaid.
“Their faith has been vindicated because, after 12 years, the show still works with him in the policeman’s suit.”
Now 62, Neil started acting in school plays in Doncaster before heading to TV and parts in Casualty, London’s Burning, Lovejoy and A Touch Of Frost.
But he worries for young actors starting their careers now: “It gets more difficult for people to get grants etc, it will put off people from poorer backgrounds wanting to take on big debt.
“They’re all wonderful actors, but there’s a clutch of very well-known wonderful actors who all went to Eton and Harrow and then to drama school. It’s nothing against them as actors, but they’re from moneyed backgrounds.
“When I came out of drama school, my rent was £11 a week. My first wage was eight or nine times my rent. Now, for young people paying £200 a week for a room in London, not many are coming out of drama school and getting the best part of two grand a month.”
“Everybody always says it’s too risky a job. Now, you look at young people and think it’s even riskier. It’s much, much harder than it was.”
Neil’s 50th episode was filmed in 2021 when he was given a cake.
The episode, For Death Prepare, features a musical as the Midsomer Mummers amateur operatic society rehearses for their charity concert – before a body is found in the theatre.
The plot gave Neil and the crew an idea. He says: “We think ‘Midsomer: The Musical’ is a great idea. If the songs are good and you get a good story, you can turn just about anything into a musical.”
Midsomer continues to be a ratings success and Neil has no plans to retire, but he adds: “As I’ve got older, this ticks all my necessary boxes. So I imagine there’s a point at which I just get too old and it looks a bit daft.”
* For Death Prepare airs on ITV tomorrow at 8pm.
