Midsomer Murders - The Scarecrow Murders - 12:20 am Wednesday, December 31 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.

Emily Bevan (Actor) .. Naomi Ashworth/Bryony Hayden

Jacqueline Boatswain (Actor) .. Rachel Taylor

Born: June 22, 1962 in Bedford, England

Best Known For: Playing Simone Loveday in Hollyoaks.

Early-life: Born on June 22, 1962 in Bedford, England. As a child, Jacqueline showed a musical talent and joined a London ballet school at age 17. She sang and danced on the West End for 15 years before turning to acting.

Career: Boatswain's first acting role was in Doctors in 2001, although she had previously appeared in such TV series as Red Dwarf as a dancer. One of Boatswain's best known roles is that of Mrs Bassinger in Grange Hill, which she played between 2003 and 2005. After that, she had guest appearances in such TV series as Life on Mars, The Royal and Torchwood. She played Patreesha St Rose in Shameless in 2013 and also Victoria in Wolfblood from 2014 to 2016. In 2015, she joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Simone Loveday.

Quote: On changing from dancing to acting: "In this country we don't see musical theatre as acting so I thought I had to retrain. That doesn't happen in the States as it's all one industry, but we do love a bit of inverted snobbery here!"

Trivia: She was nominated for Best Female Vocal Performance in a Video Game in a Supporting Role at the Behind the Voice Actors Awards 2016 for her performance in Bloodborne.

Jessica Ellerby (Actor) .. Caitlin Dawson

Amara Karan (Actor) .. Adele Paige

Goldy Notay (Actor) .. Samira Mallick

Simon Shepherd (Actor) .. Rev Oscar Hayden

Born: August 20, 1956 in Bristol

Best Known For: Peak Practice.

Early-life: Simon was born in Bristol on August 20, 1956. He went on to attend Manchester Metropolitan University and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He was also a member of the National Youth Theatre. He made his TV debut in 1973 in an edition of Jackanory Playhouse.

Career: Shepherd is perhaps best known for playing Dr Will Preston in ITV drama Peak Practice, a role he played between 1993 and 2002. His other TV credits include guest appearances in Chancer, Casualty, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Heartbeat, A Touch of Frost, Doctors, Holby City and Death in Paradise. He is also a regular on the stage, having performed in the likes of Betrayal, The Seagull, Art, and The Secret Rapture.

Quote: "I've been proud of a lot of things with my children, but never as proud as when my wife Alex won her Oscar."

Trivia: Shepherd supports Barnardos and Save the Children Fund charities.

David Yip (Actor) .. Fergus Rooney

Holly Freeman (Actor) .. Thea Stannard

Raj Bajaj (Actor) .. Lukesh Mallick

Jason Wong (Actor) .. Stephan Ashworth

Billy Hinchliff (Actor) .. Jack Baldwin

Christine Lalla (Director)

Carol Ann Docherty (Producer)

Helen Jenkins (Writer)

Michele Buck (Executive producer)

Louise Pedersen (Executive producer)

Midsomer Murders: The Scarecrow Murders

12:20 am - 02:20 am, Wednesday, December 31 on ITV3 (10)

About this Broadcast

The Scarecrow Murders
Season 22, Episode 4

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