MIDSOMER MURDERS

08 November, 2006 by The_Boss

ITV1 Sunday 12th November 2006 9:00pm to 11:00pm

Dance with the Dead

John Nettles and Jason Hughes return with a special edition of MIDSOMER MURDERS as Barnaby and Jones investigate a suspicious death in the village of Morton Fendle, where the Second World War still casts a gloomy shadow.

When the body of a young man, Simon Bright, is found dead from exhaust fumes in a World War Two Humber at the disused aircraft hangar, it initially looks like a suicide pact gone wrong. But Simon received a blow to the head before he died.

Simon’s girlfriend, Laura Sharp, is missing – and as the detectives try to find her, they discover this childlike woman had a strange hold on many local residents. The investigation leads them to a 1940s jazz and swing night at the Parish Hall organised by Elaine Trim, unofficial matchmaker to the village.

But can Barnaby and Jones dance their way through the red herrings to find Laura - and Simon’s killer?

“Dance with the Dead” guest stars Danny Webb as over-the-hill ladies’ man Tony Kirby, with Jane Wymark as Barnaby’s wife Joyce, Laura Howard as his daughter Cully and Barry Jackson as the pathologist Dr Bullard.

The film is the first in a new series of MIDSOMER MURDERS, marking the 10th anniversary of the drama. A further seven two-hour episodes will be transmitted over forthcoming months.

Since the series began, more than 130 suspicious deaths – including 110 murders, six suicides, five deaths from natural causes and eight accidents – have befallen the residents of Midsomer.

Filmed in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, the Chilterns and the Home Counties, MIDSOMER MURDERS has been a ratings winner for ITV1 from the very beginning and it is also a major British export around the world, with sales to over 200 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

Executive producer Brian True-May says: “We’re delighted to be entering our second decade of MIDSOMER MURDERS – and I’m pleased to report that there are plenty of ghastly deeds still to befall the residents of our seemingly tranquil villages!”


MIDSOMER MURDERS is produced by Brian True-May and the consultant producer is Betty Willingale. “Dance with the Dead” is written by Peter J Hammond and the director is Peter Smith. The drama is a Bentley Production, part of the All3Media Group, for ITV1.