Midsomer Murders - A Dying Art - 11:55 pm Friday, December 19 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

David Bamber (Actor) .. Daniel Fargo

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.

Denis Lill (Actor) .. Simeon Rowling

Cherie Lunghi (Actor) .. Alexandra Monkford

Born: April 04, 1952 in London

Best Known For: The Manageress and a series of coffee adverts.

Early-life: Cherie Mary Lunghi was born on April 4, 1952, in Nottingham, the daughter of an Italian and his English wife. She was raised in London by her mother and her aunts after her father returned to Italy. Cherie began acting as a child on radio and in TV and eventually studied at Homerton College, Cambridge. Her acting training came at the Arts Educational School and the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has also been keen on dancing, aerobics, horse-riding, painting and playing the piano from an early age.

Career: Lunghi started out on stage, but made her TV debut in a 1968 episode of the BBC's classic Sherlock Holmes series. She's worked steadily ever since on the small and big screens, cropping up in the likes of Edward & Mrs Simpson, Excalibur, Tales of the Unexpected, The Monocled Mutineer, The Mission, and Ellis Island. However, it was popular footballing drama The Manageress which made her a major TV star in 1989. Since then, Lunghi has appeared in the likes of The Buccaneers, A Question of Guilt, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Jack and Sarah, EastEnders, Cutting It, Midsomer Murders and Casualty 1906. She was a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2008.

Quote: "It's intriguing to get your head around people who have evil intent. It's pretty complicated."

Trivia: Lunghi has narrated Who Do You Think You Are?

Saskia Reeves (Actor) .. Summer Pitt

Adrian Scarborough (Actor) .. Tony Pitt

Ramon Tikaram (Actor) .. Lance Auden

Manjinder Virk (Actor) .. Dr Kim Karimore

Best Known For: Being a multi-talented writer, director and actor.

Early-life: Manjinder was born in Coventry and comes from a family of three children. Her first taste of acting came at the Belgrade Youth Theatre in Coventry and she went on to become artistic director of Pangram Dance Theatre with her brother, Hardish. She earned a degree in contemporary dance at De Montfort University in Leicester. She made her TV acting debut in an episode of Holby City in 1999.

Career: Guest roles for Virk followed in Doctors, the TV film Ready When You Are, Mr McGill, The Bill, Swiss Toni, and Green Wing. She had a recurring role in ITV medical drama Monroe. More recently, she has starred in The Thick of It, Hunted, Call the Midwife and Ordinary Lives. Her other TV credits include the TV movies The Bradford Riots and Britz. Away from acting, she started writing when she joined the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. Her first commission in 2003 was a stage play called Glow for Theatre Centre. In 2010, she won a Best Actress gong at the British Independent Film Awards for the documentary The Arbor.

Quote: "I've written and devised plays since I was at school. My whole family are in the arts, my mum and dad are writers, it's really natural to be doing it."

Trivia: Virk's 2013 short film Out of Darkness won the Best Drama Award and the Best of Fest Award at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

Charlotte Beaumont (Actor) .. Helena Pitt

Jolyon Coy (Actor) .. Fabian Monkford

David Gant (Actor) .. Brandon Monkford

John Hollingworth (Actor) .. Brin Dunne

Cara Horgan (Actor) .. Rachel Monkford

Cat Simmons (Actor) .. Clemmy Staples

Born: May 04, 1981 in Blackburn

Best Known For: Playing Kezia Walker in The Bill.

Early-life: Cat was born in Blackburn on May 4, 1981, the daughter of a singer and nurse. She trained with the Oldham Theatre Workshop and National Youth Music Theatre. Cat's first break came in 2005 when she had a recurring role in Channel 5 soap Family Affairs.

Career: Simmons is best known to TV audiences for playing Kezia Walker in The Bill between 2006 and 2009. Her other TV credits include Holby City, Doctors and Casualty. More recently, she appeared in BBC drama Ordinary Lies. She also has an extensive stage career, having starred in Whistle Down the Wind, Jesus Christ Superstar, Aladdin, Simply Heavenly, Hopelessly Devoted and Oliver!

Quote: "I've always done everything - I've always been able to sing, dance and act."

Trivia: In 2005, Simmons collaborated with the group Three Levels on the track Rock U 2Nite.

Michael Wildman (Actor) .. Killion Staples

Jo Wright (Executive producer)

Kim Crowther (Executive producer)

Phil Hunter (Producer)

Matt Carter (Director)

Jeff Povey (Writer)

Caroline Graham (Writer)

Midsomer Murders: A Dying Art

11:55 pm - 01:45 am, Friday, December 19 on ITV3 (10)

About this Broadcast

A Dying Art
Season 18, Episode 4

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