Midsomer Murders - Murder by Magic - 1:30 pm Wednesday, June 24 on ITV3

Neil Dudgeon (Actor) .. DCI John Barnaby

Born: January 01, 1961 in Doncaster

Best Known For: Being the new Barnaby in Midsomer Murders.

Early-life: Born in Doncaster in 1961. His dad drove a bread delivery van and his mum was an assistant supermarket manager, although they both also performed on the club circuit. Neil credits his own love of acting to a teacher who forced him to read aloud in an assembly _ it was supposed to be a punishment for misbehaving in class, but Neil found he actually enjoyed it. He went to appear in school plays, before studying drama at Rada.

Career: Neil made his film debut in 1987 with an uncredited role in Prick Up Your Ears, and went on to appear in London's Burning on TV the following year. He's worked pretty steadily since then in a wide range of TV shows, although he admits he's most frequently cast as a cop _ he's starred in Inspector Morse, Out of the Blue, Between the Lines, Messiah and Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking. Last year it was announced that he would be taking on his most high-profile police role to date when he took over from John Nettles as the star of Midsomer Murders. He has also starred alongside Caroline Quentin in the sitcom Life of Riley.

Quote: On joining Midsomer Murders: "My secret dream is that viewers will switch on, watch it all the way through and not notice there's a new bloke in it."

Trivia: He has starred in a number of dramas on Radio 3 and Radio 4.

Gwilym Lee (Actor) .. DS Charlie Nelson

Fiona Dolman (Actor) .. Sarah Barnaby

Born: January 01, 1970 in Findhorn, Moray

Best Known For: The Royal Today, Heartbeat and Midsomer Murders.

Early-life: Fiona Jane Dolman was born in Findhorn, Moray, on January 1, 1970 to Rosemary and Gordon. She is the youngest daughter of four children. Her father worked in the RAF and he moved his family to Gibraltar when Fiona was 15. In 1993, she made her TV acting debut in Crime Story.

Career: Roles followed for Dolman on the small screen in Strike Force, A Touch of Frost, The Knock and Ultraviolet. In 1998, she joined the cast of Heartbeat playing Jackie Lambert. She went on to have a recurring role in The Royal Today. In 2011, she began playing Sarah Barnaby alongside Neil Dudgeon in Midsomer Murders.

Quote: On working with the Barnaby's dog on Midsomer Murders: 'We have sausages strapped to bags and in pockets so the dog follows you around.'

Trivia: At the age of 16 and 17 years, Dolman won awards at the Gibraltar RAF ladies windsurfing championships.

Tamzin Malleson (Actor) .. Dr Kate Wilding

Born: May 01, 1974 in Yeovil

Best Known For: Teachers, Bodies, and Midsomer Murders.

Early-life: Tamzin was born in Yeovil on May 1, 1974. She joined a drama workshop when she was 11 and went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Her first TV role was a guest appearance on A Touch of Frost in 1996.

Career: Malleson's first major role was a recurring part on BBC drama Dangerfield. She followed this up with guest appearances in The Bill, Always and Everyone, Agatha Christie's Poirot and The Vice. Her first break came in 2002 when she landed a lead role in Channel 4 drama Teachers. She also had a recurring role in BBC medical drama Bodies. Since 2011, she has played pathologist Dr Kate Wilding in ITV drama Midsomer Murders.

Quote: 'I prefer country walks to a night out on the town.'

Trivia: Malleson is also a professional artist.

Joe Absolom (Actor) .. Luke Altman

Born: December 16, 1978 in London

Best Known For: Playing Matthew Rose in EastEnders, and Al in Doc Martin.

Early-life: Born December 16, 1978, in London. He has an older brother, Dan, and younger sister, Cassie. After appearing in a school play as a runner bean at the age of 10, he took up acting professionally. His father sent photos of his three children to an agency just for fun, but Joe became hooked on treading the boards. His first TV appearance came in an advert for peanut butter. More commercials followed.

Career: Absolom made his drama debut in 1991's Antonia and Jane, and hasn't looked back since. He worked consistently throughout his teens - by the time he was 18, he had appeared on TV in the likes of The Bill, Silent Witness and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Touching Evil and Dangerfield followed, but he didn't become a famous face until he starred in EastEnders. He left in 2000 after three years in the soap. Since then he's starred in Extreme Ops, Stan the Man, Unconditional Love, Servants and PoW. He also has a regular role in ITV's comedy drama Doc Martin and featured alongside Kevin Costner and fellow ex-Walford resident Michael Greco in the Western series Hatfields and McCoys.

Quote: 'Acting's not a career I contemplated. I thought I'd go to university and spend three years drunk, then try to start to live properly.'

Trivia: In 2010, Absolom won a celebrity version of Total Wipeout, winning £10,000 for charity.

Fraser Ayres (Actor) .. Theo Bainbridge

Amanda Burton (Actor) .. Carole Latimer

Born: October 10, 1956 in Ballougry, Co Derry, Northern Ireland

Best Known For: Brookside, Peak Practice, Silent Witness and Waterloo Road.

Early-life: Born in Ballougry, Co Derry, Northern Ireland, on October 10, 1956. She was raised in a Protestant area of Londonderry, where her father was a headmaster. She's the youngest of four girls. At the age of seven, Amanda decided she wanted to become an actress. Eleven years later, she left for England to study drama at Manchester Polytechnic. After graduating, she appeared in plays produced by companies in Lancaster and Bolton.

Career: Burton's first regular TV role came in 1982 as Heather Haversham in Brookside. She spent four years in the soap before securing a regular role in Boon. She also appeared in episodes of Inspector Morse, Medics, Stay Lucky, and Lovejoy. In 1993, she starred alongside Kevin Whately in Peak Practice. Two years later she quit to tackle the role of forensic pathologist Dr Sam Ryan in Silent Witness, and stayed with the show for eight years. Other miniseries and one-off dramas include The Gift, Forgotten, The Whistle-Blower, Marple and The Commander. Burton later spent a year on Waterloo Road, had a supporting role in the film Bronson and has presented the series Amanda Burton: Forensic Killers for the Discovery Channel.

Quote: 'I'm not a cold, serious person like many of the characters I've played. I'm actually a complete clown.'

Trivia: In 2014, Burton made it through to the semi-finals of Celebrity MasterChef.

Noma Dumezweni (Actor) .. Ailsa Probert

Deborah Findlay (Actor) .. Lorna Soane

Merelina Kendall (Actor) .. Dr Grenville

Stephanie Leonidas (Actor) .. Annabel Latimer

Alan McKenna (Actor) .. Rhodri Probert

Andrew-Lee Potts (Actor) .. Gideon Latimer

Justin Salinger (Actor) .. Andrew Maplin

Jack Shepherd (Actor) .. Magnus Soane

Born: October 29, 1940 in Leeds

Best Known For: Wycliffe.

Early-life: Jack was born in Leeds on October 29, 1940. He studied fine art at Kings College, Newcastle, and during his time in the North East, he was an amateur actor with the People's Theatre. He went on to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and the Drama Centre London.

Career: Shepherd worked at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1965 to 1969, and during the 1970s, he was a regular on TV, appearing in Budgie, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Bill Brand, Crown Court, and Ready When You Are, Mr McGill. From 1977 to 1985, he was a member of Bill Bryden's Cottesloe Theatre Company at the National Theatre. He continued to work on TV, appearing in the likes of Blind Justice, Shoot to Kill, Between the Lines, Lovejoy, High Stakes, The Jury, Silent Witness, All About George, The Nativity, and The Politician's Husband. The peak of his TV popularity came when he played the title role in ITV detective drama Wycliffe from 1993 to 1998. He has also written and directed a number of stage plays.

Quote: 'I got addicted to the creative process when I was at art school, from the age of 18 to 22. I was already writing play sketches and all kinds of things at that time.'

Trivia: Shepherd is an accomplished jazz musician. He won an Olivier award in 1984 for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Rachel Cuperman (Writer)

Sally Griffiths (Writer)

Charles Palmer (Director)

Phil Hunter (Producer)

Jo Wright (Executive producer)

Midsomer Murders: Murder by Magic

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Wednesday, June 24 on ITV3 (10)

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Murder by Magic
Season 17, Episode 2

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