Neil Dudgeon stars as DCI John Barnaby in Midsomer Murders: For Death Prepare. Unsurprisingly, considering we are in Midsomer, a murder isn’t far away…
The Midsomer Mummers, an amateur operatic society, are rehearsing for their charity concert when the body of an unknown man is found in their theatre – the police investigation quickly becomes a race to discover who is desperate to be centre stage.
As Sir Huntley’s daughter, the indomitable Lady Katisha is the current owner of Empson Estate; proud of her family’s obsession, Katisha has followed in her father’s footsteps as patron of the Mummers. A traditionalist, Katisha has retained everything on the estate as it was in her father’s day with Brattlington Hall as the shrine to all things Gilbert and Sullivan as costumes, old posters, memorabilia and photographs line every wall.
The Mummers are in the midst of rehearsing for their centenary charity concert of The Pirates of Penzance. Despite entering the fanciful world of pirates, the production has been fraught with setbacks and with only three days until curtains it is all hands-on deck.
The ever-critical eye of Lady Katisha is not helping alleviate the pressure. Fortunately, the arrival of her slick private GP, Dr Simon Charteris, diverts Katisha’s focus. Simon has clearly beguiled her with attention to the dismay of Katisha’s niece, Phyllis, the production director.
Pushing forward with rehearsals, Phyllis asks the leading player of the Mummers, the gregarious Pirate King Marcus Dunlow, to block his musical number. Striding across the stage towards the prop treasure chest, Marcus tips it open with his sword to discover that buried beneath the gold coins, a pair of dead eyes stare back.
As Barnaby and Winter arrive to investigate, none of the cast or crew professes to know the man. With no identification and therefore no motive, the duo finds this case may not be as smooth sailing as they first thought. The pressure is on to identify the victim and unmask the killer before they can stage their showstopping final act.
Cast
- Alexander Hanson as Marcus Dunlow
- Annette Badland as Fleur Perkins
- Clive Rowe as Derek Sharrow
- David Rubin as Graham Handsworth
- Dylan Wood as Luke Dunlow
- Fiona Dolman as Sarah Barnaby
- Isabel Shaw as Betty Barnaby
- Jane Bertish as Katisha Empson
- Jenna Russell as Faith Dunlow
- Kevin Whately as Jeremy Whittingdale
- Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby
- Nick Hendrix as DS Jamie Winter
- Samantha Spiro as Phyllis Cuttle
- Shobna Gulati as Shaila Handsworth
- Tessa Wong as Phoebe Whittingdale
Midsomer Murders airs on ITV at 8pm on ITV.
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