john nettles midsomer

Midsomer Murders star John Nettles reveals his favourite episode - have you watched it? 

Have you been rewatching Midsomer Murders on ITV3? 

TV & Film Editor
August 15, 2020

John Nettles memorably played DCI Tom Barnaby on the hit show Midsomer Murders, and while the actor starred in countless episodes of the murder mystery over his 13-year tenure on the show, there is one episode in particular that stood out as his favourite. 

READ: The real reason why John Nettles left Midsomer Murders

Chatting in an interview while reflecting on his time on the show, the actor revealed that his favourite, and possibly most dramatic episode, was season five episode five, Murder on St. Malley's Day. 

John eventually left the show in 2011

Speaking about the episode, he explained: "I liked it because it obeyed all of the rules of the whodunnit... they always have a closed community where the murder occurs. It's usually a village but on this occasion, it was a school." 

John continued: "The story involves something called 'the Pudding Club' and you'll have to watch it to find out what that's about, it's a very secretive and criminal society to do with the maintenance of the school funds and such." 

Neil Dudgeon took over as the lead detective, John Barnaby, following John's departure

Laughing, he continued: "Jeremy Child... managed to get himself beat to death with a large spoon... watch that scene because on the initial scene the spoon that he was battered to death with broke, so they needed to get another one." 

Speaking about his decision to leave the show in 2011, the star told The Telegraph: "I never thought when we were filming the pilot The Killings at Badger's Drift in 1996 that I would go on to film so many episodes. It has been a joy to be involved in such a long-running series with so many good actors and great storylines. It's the end of an era for me." 

READ: Meet the series 21 cast of Midsomer Murders

He added: "I suddenly realised that I'm going to be the oldest detective in the business now that David Jason has thrown off the mantle. But it was a very difficult decision to make. I'll have been doing Midsomer Murders for 14 years by the time Barnaby leaves. I've formed familial ties with the people involved in the show and they will be hard to break."

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