Midsomer Murders - The Point of Balance - 11:55 pm Friday, December 26 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.

Nick Hendrix (Actor) .. DS Jamie Winter

Annette Badland (Actor) .. Fleur Perkins

Born: August 26, 1950 in Birmingham

Best Known For: A string of TV, stage and films roles.

Early-life: Annette was born in Birmingham on August 26, 1950. She trained at the East 15 Acting School in London. In 1975, she made her TV debut as a tap dancing pupil in The Naked Civil Servant. Her next project was the film Jabberwocky (1977).

Career: During a long and prolific acting career, Badland has made appearances in a number of popular TV shows, including Shoestring, The Gentle Touch, Minder, Bergerac, All Creatures Great and Small, Making Out, Love Hurts, Outside Edge, and The Bill. Her film credits include The Grotesque (1995), Little Voice (1998), Beautiful People (1999) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). More recently, she has starred in Doctor Who, All the Small Things, You, Me & Them, Man Down, Father Brown, Wizards vs Aliens, and Outlander. In 2014, she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Babe Smith.

Quote: "The sea has always been a strong force for me - if I want to think about things I tend to go off to the coast."

Trivia: Badland was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award with her fellow cast members for Little Voice.

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.

Nigel Havers (Actor) .. Andrew Wilder

Born: November 06, 1949 in London

Best Known For: Playing lovable cads.

Early-life: Nigel Allan Havers was born on November 6, 1949, in London. He is the son of barrister Michael, Lord Havers, who became famous for successfully defending Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in 1967 after their arrest on drugs charges. Lord Havers was also chief prosecutor during the Yorkshire Ripper trial and was briefly the Lord Chancellor in 1987. Nigel went to the Arts Educational School before deciding to become an actor; his older brother, Philip, followed in their father's footsteps by becoming a QC.

Career: Havers' first acting job was on the Mrs Dale's Diary radio series. He also spent time with the Prospect Theatre Company. During a lean period he became a wine merchant, but things picked up after an appearance in Upstairs, Downstairs. He's since cropped up in the likes of Chariots of Fire (for which he received a Bafta nomination), Pennies from Heaven, Tales of the Unexpected and A Passage to India. The sitcom Don't Wait Up was a huge hit, and was followed by The Charmer. More recently he's featured in The Sarah Jane Adventures, Brothers and Sisters, Downton Abbey and I'm A Celebrity Get… Me Out of Here! Havers walked out of the latter after a week in the jungle. He played the role of Lewis Archer in Coronation Street in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Quote: "I am always cheerful and optimistic. If I am ever turned down after an audition, I allow myself just 24 hours to sulk, and then I forget about it, smile, and move on."

Trivia: He is a regular on the pantomime circuit. He is also the godfather of comedian Jack Whitehall.

Christopher Timothy (Actor) .. Ned Barnaby

Born: October 14, 1940 in Bala, north Wales

Best Known For: Being James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small.

Early-life: Born 14 October, 1940 in Bala, north Wales, the son of Andrew Timothy, an Army chaplain-turned-BBC announcer who was also the straightman on The Goon Show. He was brought up in Shrewsbury, bitten by the acting bug at an early age, and encouraged to take it up professionally by his father. Timothy trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and claims he smelled of chips throughout his course due to a part-time job in a transport cafe.

Career: Parts in the films Othello (1965) and The Virgin Soldiers (1968) were followed by TV shows UFO, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Van der Valk. In 1978, he landed the role of James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small, becoming one of the most popular actors on British TV. The series returned in the early Nineties but Timothy later blamed it for typecasting him. He has narrated the hit docusoap Vets in Practice and can be seen in the BBC's daytime medical drama, Doctors, in which he plays Dr Brendan 'Mac' Maguire. He's also directed some episodes of the show and an edition of The Afternoon Play.

Quote: "One of my favourite pastimes is watching good actors, working with them is even better. And to work with them as a team is a joy."

Trivia: He has appeared as a guest on Radio 4's Just a Minute.

Tom Chambers (Actor) .. Ray Wilder

Born: May 22, 1977 in Darley Dale, Derbyshire

Best Known For: Winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2008.

Early-life: Tom Stuart Chambers was born in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, on 22 May 1977. He demonstrated a keen interest in performing arts while studying at Repton School, before attending the Guilford School of Acting and the National Youth Music Theatre, where Jude Law and Jonny Lee Miller were also learning their trade. Tom starred in Brit flick Fakers (2004), before a re-enactment of Fred Astaire's tap dance routine with a drum kit in A Damsel in Distress on a video for casting directors landed him a role in Holby City.

Career: Chambers began playing dishy doctor Sam Strachan in the medical drama in 2006, but became a household name by appearing in, and winning, the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing after beating Rachel Stevens in the final to take the crown. After three years in Holby City, he quit to briefly join the cast of Waterloo Road as no-nonsense headteacher Max Tyler. From August 2011 until February 2013, Chambers played Jerry Travers in the stage production of Top Hat. After initially touring the UK, it found a home at the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End. His recent TV credits include The Great Train Robbery and Father Brown.

Quote: On Top Hat: "Doing eight shows a week is very demanding, physically and mentally. I constantly felt exhausted."

Trivia: In 2008, Chambers took part in the Great Walk to Beijing, which was organised by singer Olivia Newton-John in aid of breast cancer awareness.

Jaye Griffiths (Actor) .. Lilly Wilder

Born: September 24, 1963 in London

Best Known For: Playing Elle Gardner in Casualty.

Early-life: Born on September 24, 1963 in London. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1987, she played Maria in the television mini-series A Killing on the Exchange.

Career: Griffiths has appeared in a large number of TV shows, particularly hospital and police dramas. Her roles have included playing Elle Gardner in Casualty, Sally Johnson in The Bill, Doctor Elizabeth Croft in Doctors and Helen Marlowe in Criminal Justice. She has also played police officers in Coronation Street and Eastenders. Besides these roles, she starred as Ros Henderson in the science fiction series Bugs and played Jac in Doctor Who.

Quote: [On medical procedures]: "Please don't take this the wrong way but I love it. I love watching operations. I could watch them all day."

Trivia: Before she became an actress, she wanted to be a firefighter.

Natalie Gumede (Actor) .. Rachel Stevenson

Born: March 24, 1984 in Burnley

Best Known For: Playing Kirsty Soames on Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born in Burnley on March 24, 1984, Natalie got her first taste of working on TV at the age of 11 when BBC producers selected her to present a regional insert for Children in Need. She went on to study acting at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

Career: Following a role in 2004 one-off ITV comedy drama Von Trapped, Gumede became a series regular on BBC sitcom Ideal. Small roles followed in Emmerdale, Doctors, The Scum Also Rises, The Persuasionists, and Waterloo Road before her big break came in 2011 when she began playing Kirsty Soames, Tyrone Dobbs' girlfriend, on Coronation Street. She stayed with the soap for 18 months. In September 2013, she became a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Quote: On life as an actor: "I've never starved but there has been the odd meagre meal and once I walked six miles into London for an audition as I didn't have enough money for the bus fare."

Trivia: During her time on Coronation Street, she won three British Soap Awards.

Jack Hawkins (Actor) .. Jake Hannity

Carolina Main (Actor) .. Heather Wilder

Kazia Pelka (Actor) .. Tanya Brzezinski

Danny Mac (Actor) .. Anton Walsh

Born: February 26, 1988 in Bromley

Best Known For: Playing Dodger in Hollyoaks.

Early-life: Danny was born in Bromley on February 26, 1988 but grew up in Bognor Regis. He trained at the Arts Educational Schools in London before landing a role in the West End musical Wicked.

Career: After starring in Wicked for four years, Mac's big break came in 2011 when he landed the role of ladies man Mark `Dodger" Savage in Hollyoaks.

Quote: On his Hollyoaks character: "Dodger is a guy who's not meant to be sad and upset - he's meant to be the happy-go-lucky guy."

Trivia: He supports Chelsea FC. In 2013, he won gongs at the British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards in the sexiest male category.

Faye Tozer (Actor) .. Rosa Corrigan

Cassidy Little (Actor) .. Duncan Corrigan

Luke Pierre (Actor) .. Warren Cunningham

Isabel Shaw (Actor) .. Betty Barnaby

Louise Pedersen (Executive producer)

Michele Buck (Executive producer)

Guy Hescott (Producer)

Audrey Cooke (Director)

Nick Hicks-Beach (Writer)

Midsomer Murders: The Point of Balance

11:55 pm - 01:50 am, Friday, December 26 on ITV3 (10)

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The Point of Balance
Season 21, Episode 1

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