Midsomer Murders - For Death Prepare - 11:50 pm 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

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.

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.

Alexander Hanson (Actor) .. Marcus Dunlow

Clive Rowe (Actor) .. Derek Sharrow

Kevin Whately (Actor) .. Jeremy Whittingdale

Born: February 06, 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Best Known For: Playing John Thaw's right-hand man Lewis in Inspector Morse.

Early-life: Kevin George Edward Whately was born on February 6, 1951, in Hexham, and grew up in the remote Northumberland countryside. His father was in the Navy, and Whately only saw him two or three times a year. He began acting at the age of four and it remained a passion throughout school, alongside a short-lived desire to be a doctor. When his careers teacher advised against acting, he went into accountancy for three years. He later trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His brother, Frank, is a drama lecturer.

Career: Whately's TV debut came in a 1979 episode of Shoestring. Two years later he had a six-week stint on Coronation Street. His big break came in 1983, when he landed the role of Neville in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. In 1987, he made his first appearance as Sgt Lewis in Morse, and has since appeared in Peak Practice, the TV dramas Trip Trap, Gobble, and The Broker's Man, as well as Oscar-winning drama The English Patient. Other projects include Paranoid, Silent Cry, Murder in Mind, Purely Belter, Promoted to Glory and The Children. He's now the star of hit Morse spin-off Lewis.

Quote: On John Thaw: "John had a wonderful sense of humour which is belied sometimes by journalists' impression of him as irascible. He was a wonderful mimic, particularly of people on the set rather than famous people."

Trivia: Married to actress Madeleine Newton, who appeared alongside him in both Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Inspector Morse. They have two children, Kieran and Kitty. His daughter is an acclaimed opera singer.

Samantha Spiro (Actor) .. Phyllis Cuttle

Born: June 20, 1968 in London

Best Known For: An extensive stage career and playing Barbara Windsor in the TV movie Cor, Blimey!

Early-life: Samantha was born in London on June 20, 1968. She wanted to be an actress from a young age and went on to join the National Youth Theatre and train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Her first acting role after leaving drama school was in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Boys from Syracuse and Macbeth at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.

Career: Spiro's breakthrough part was playing Barbara Windsor in Terry Johnson's comedy play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick at the National Theatre. She reprised the role in the TV movie Cor, Blimey! A prolific stage performer, Spiro's theatre credits include Teechers, Jumpers, A Little Night Music, Funny Girl, Chicken Soup with Barley and Guys and Dolls. She won Olivier awards for Merrily We Roll Along and Hello Dolly. On the small screen, Spiro has appeared in MIT: Murder Investigation Team, After You've Gone, Grandma's House, Bad Education, The Wrong Mans, London Spy and Tracey Ullman's Show. She won a British Comedy Award for Grandma's House. Her Radio 4 drama credits include Waiting for Di and Pride and Prejudice.

Quote: "I'm just lucky that I'm getting to play lovely roles, work with great people, and still feel a bit like a mum."

Trivia: Spiro won a Joseph Jefferson Award for Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for a production of A Little Night Music in Chicago.

Shobna Gulati (Actor) .. Shaila Handsworth

Born: August 07, 1966 in Oldham

Best Known For: Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born August 7, 1966, in Oldham, Lancashire. Her father was a doctor. She has two older sisters and a younger brother. As a child, Shobna wanted to be a vet, but became hooked on acting and dancing (she's trained in a classic Indian style) thanks to appearances with amateur groups. Despite this, she studied Arabic and Middle Eastern politics at university. She can also speak six languages. While dancing in a show at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London, she was spotted by an agent who urged her to become a professional actress.

Career: Gulati's first TV appearance was in a 1999 edition of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, playing the small role of a cafe assistant. Her big break came when she landed the part of simple-minded but sweet-natured canteen worker Anita, in Victoria Wood's sitcom dinnerladies. A short stint in EastEnders and a Bafta-winning short film, Shadowscan, followed before she was cast as Sunita in Coronation Street in 2001. A spell away from the soap saw her join the cast of Where the Heart Is. She's also appeared on Have I Got News For You, Call My Bluff and Soapstar Superstar, as well as in numerous stage productions.

Quote: "I'm not afraid of anything."

Trivia: Since 2013, Gulati has appeared as a regular panelist on Loose Women.

Jenna Russell (Actor) .. Faith Dunlow

Born: October 05, 1967 in Paddington, London

Best Known For: Playing Michelle Fowler in EastEnders.

Early-life: Born on October 5, 1967 in Paddington, London and raised in Dundee. Jenna trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. She began her career as an understudy for Eponine and Fantine in Les Miserables and later took over the role of Fantine.

Career: Russell's early career saw her perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Then, between 1990 and 1992, she played Maggie Lomax in the television comedy On the Up. Russell has appeared in a number of theatre and musical productions and received an Olivier Award for her performance in Sunday in the Park with George. She was also nominated for a Tony Award when she appeared in the same play in New York. On TV, she played the role of Deborah Gilder in the series Born and Bred and has appeared in such shows as Doctor Who, Peak Practice and Minder. Her career has taken her to the big screen, including a role as a detective in Mortdecai (2015). In 2016, Russell took on the character of Michelle Fowler in EastEnders.

Quote: "I love my job, I mean what a job?! What a lucky life it is if you get the work, and how depressing if you don't - we've all been there."

Trivia: She sang the theme song for Red Dwarf.

Jane Bertish (Actor) .. Katisha Empson

David Rubin (Actor) .. Graham Handsworth

Dylan Wood (Actor) .. Luke Dunlow

Tessa Wong (Actor) .. Phoebe Whittingdale

Rajat M Bose (Actor) .. Dr Simon Charteris

Julia Gilbert (Writer)

Toby Frow (Director)

Carol Ann Docherty (Producer)

Michele Buck (Executive producer)

Louise Pedersen (Executive producer)

Midsomer Murders: For Death Prepare

11:50 pm - 12:00 am, Wednesday, December 31 on ITV3 (10)

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For Death Prepare
Season 22, Episode 5

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