Midsomer Murder stars and their real-life families explored

Having retired from his Midsomer Murders role over a decade ago, John, 80, now lives in the idyllic Devon countryside with his wife of 29 years, painter Catheryn Sealey. Together, they share three rescue dogs, three rescue horses and two donkeys. 

Sharing an insight into his marriage, John told The Mirror in 2015: "You need someone to ground you because if you start believing that your public persona is your only and real persona, then you're looking at a very long and lonely old age. You must live as far away as you can from your public image, you really must."

Just like his on-screen counterpart, DCI Tom Barnaby, John is a dad of one and shares his daughter Emma with his first wife, Joyce Nettles, to whom he was married for 13 years. Emma, who has two children of her own, lives in Jersey, and John visits the island at "every possible opportunity". 

When he's not busy solving murders in Midsomer, Neil can be found at home in west London with his wife Mary, a BBC radio producer, who once appeared with her husband on an episode of All Star Mr & Mrs back in 2012 (see photo above). 

The couple, who met through work when Neil was cast in a play that Mary was directing, have been married for over 15 years and share two children, Greta and Joe.

In a 2019 interview, Neil revealed that his two kids are "much more arty" than he was when he was a youngster. 

"I think they're exposed to more stuff now, there's so much about to do with music, art and performing," the 63-year-old told The Mirror. "I was useless – I got booted out of the choir, I was told I couldn't sing, they told me to stand there and mime! I played the violin and broke the string and I couldn’t really draw."

Nick's wife is also a TV star – and she even appeared in an episode of Midsomer Murders! The 39-year-old is married to actress Jessica Ellerby, who viewers may recognise from her roles in the Netflix sitcom Lovesick, ITV comedy Benidorm, and the superhero series, Pennyworth.

Jessica guest-starred on Midsomer Murders back in 2021, playing her husband's on-screen ex-girlfriend, Caitlin. 

On welcoming his wife onto the show, Nick previously said: "It's something I've wanted her to be part of for a while but obviously it's not the nepotistic world that people think it is where you just go, 'I demand my wife be in the show,' because that's not how it works and our casting director has far more integrity than that. There came a part that was right for her."

Praising Jessica's performance, he said: "It sounds sentimental but I was very proud of her, it was nice to see.

"Everyone thought she was brilliant and she was brilliant. The scenes that I've seen, she's very wonderful and much better than me, which is quite annoying," he jokingly added.  

While Jane likes to keep her personal life out of the spotlight, we do know that she's married to diplomat Paul Howson and shared their plans to go travelling after she left her role on Midsomer.

"The first thing I'm going to do now is go travelling with my husband, who's been working in Shanghai in cultural diplomacy for the British Council. I'm very keen to go back and see how it's changed," Jane told Birmingham Live in 2010. 

These days, Jane, 71, works as a facilitator for The London Literary Salon, which builds a "community around the study of literature and ideas", according to its website. 

Jane isn't the only famous face in her family as her late dad Patrick Wymark was also an actor, as is her brother, Tristram. Meanwhile, her mother Olwen was a writer and playwright. 

When she's not filming episodes of Midsomer Murders, Annette can be found at home in east London with her partner, actor David Hatton, who is best known for his roles in The Pirates of Penzance, The Knock, and This is Jinsy. 

Annette opened up about her decision not to have children during an interview with This Is Money in 2023. When asked if she still works long hours at the age of 73, the actress said: "I don't have children so my work is probably more important to me than it should be. I enjoy the stimulation of playing different characters, the research involved and the variety. 

"One day I'll be flying somewhere to meet fans of Outlander, the next day I'll be at the Globe Theatre. I love my work," she added. 

Fiona lives in Kent with her daughter Madeleine, who turned 11 in July this year. 

The 54-year-old raised her daughter as a single mum following a brief relationship with a younger man. She was previously married to assistant director Martin Curry, whom she separated from in 2011 after 13 years of marriage.

Opening up about becoming pregnant in her 40s, Fiona previously told HELLO!: "At 42 it was something I'd given up on really - with our marriage ending I wouldn't have planned on having a child. You do the calculations and think: 'Right, well, that's an avenue that's kind of closed for me and that's ok. Then life had a different plan."

Sharing her delight following the arrival of her little girl, Fiona told us: "Things might not be perfect but from the moment I held Madeleine in my arms we felt like a team. I can't describe it, but I just look at her and think I don't remember life before and we'll just be absolutely fine."