The Killings at Badger's Drift is the pilot episode of the popular ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders and was originally broadcast on 23rd March 1997.
Background[]
The episode was adapted from the novel of the same name by author Caroline Graham and was screenplayed by Anthony Horowitz, who was also well-known for adapting dramas such as Foyle's War and Agatha Christie's Poirot. It was directed by Jeremy Silberston. It is the first appearance of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby and Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy, played by John Nettles and Daniel Casey respectively.
Synopsis[]
When Emily Simpson is found dead in her house, DCI Barnaby's instincts all lead him to suspect murder. Although she was elderly and everyone seems to have liked her, it seems she may have seen something in the woods that she shouldn't have. There are numerous suspects: the local doctor who lies about his alibi, Iris Rainbird, the local busybody who seems to live beyond her means or her son Dennis, who is the local undertaker. Barnaby also receives information that a death the previous years may not have been an accident. When two other residents of Badger's Drift are murdered, Barnaby uncovers an illicit love affair that the protagonists must keep secret.
Plot, Part 1[]
MURDER 1: Two years ago, Bella Trace is shot while at a shooting party. Her death is assumed to be due to an accident.
Present day: It is late afternoon in the most beautiful of English villages. A wooden post announces "Badger's Drift - Midsomer's Best Kept Village". Elderly Emily Simpson cycles by on her tricycle. She has a number of wooden stakes with red ribbons in her basket along with a camera. She greets various villagers as she passes them. Emily meets a woman about her own age, Lucy Bellringer. Emily jokes that Lucy will buy her tea this year.
Emily goes past the Rainbird house and is observed by Iris Rainbird from her doorstep. At the edge of a forest, Emily Simpson parks her bicycle next to a tree and carefully locks it up. She finds a pale orchid, "spurred coral root". She takes out one of the stakes with red ribbon attached and plants it firmly in the earth, then she photographs it with the camera. While she takes the picture she hears a grunting sound, faint at first, then louder. She ventures into the woods and is shocked and horrified by what she sees. As Emily turns and runs out of the forest, a man's hand reaches down and picks up a wooden stake that Emily dropped.
Emily arrives at her house, "Beehive Cottage". Lucy takes her cat out and notices Emily rushing straight inside and slamming her door.
Inside, Emily makes a call and thanks the person for listening. A gloved hand reaches down and opens the gate of Emily's cottage. Emily makes a call and requests a number in Brighton, but before she can say more, the gloved hand reaches out and knocks on the door. The operator can be faintly heard talking on the telephone.
MURDER 2: Slowly, Emily lowers the telephone, cutting off the voice. The handle of the door begins to turn. Emily looks helpless, staring....
Barnaby and Troy arrive in Badger's Drift to investigate. Dr. George Bullard greets them. "Haven't seen you in a while." Barnaby replies, "We only meet when there's a corpse." The victim is Emily Simpson. She died of a broken neck. The question is did she fall or was she pushed. Scuff marks on the carpet. Blow to the back of the neck and then dragged to make it look like an accident. But who would want to bump off an 80 year old spinster? Not even rich. She used to be a teacher. The neighbor across the street called it in.
Lucy Bellringer reports to the detectives that she saw Emily come home about 6:00 and she knew something was wrong. "Well, she slammed the door, for a start. Now, some people close doors and some people slam them. Emily was very much a closer. And she didn't padlock her tricycle. Now, Emily was very particular about this. She was afraid of thieves...To leave her tricycle like that, she must have been very upset." Lucy says that the last time she spoke to Emily, she was about to go into the wood. "She was looking for the spurred coral root. It's an orchid. The last time we saw one was seven years ago and I found it so Emily had to buy me tea at the Regency Hotel. It's our little competition. If she found it, Emily would mark the position and photograph it." Emily has red ribbons on her stakes and Lucy has yellow. Lucy says, "I shall have to go over tomorrow. I still haven't told the bees...You have to tell the bees when somebody dies. Otherwise they just clear off."
Dennis Rainbird comes up to speak to the detectives. He is the local undertaker. "Miss Simpson was a client," explains Dennis. " I was wondering if I could take her... the deceased." Barnaby says, "Oh, I'm afraid that won't be possible for a little while." Dennis says, "Oh! So you do suspect some naughtiness. It was her neck, I understand. Everyone knows by now. It's that sort of village." Troy says, "Well, you can't have the body yet. All right? Sir?" Dennis replies, "Oh. I see you've got a right constable there. You let me know when you're ready for me."
Plot, Part 2[]
Barnaby tells Troy to check cameras and telephone records. Barnaby goes to see Emily Simpson's doctor, Dr. Trevor Lessiter. Lessiter says Emily never complained to him and was remarkably fit for her age. His wife, Barbara Lessiter, says she was out shopping all day. Judith Lessiter walks out of the house. She is next seen posing for Michael Lacey. Back at the Lessiter house, the couple argue. Barbara gets a phone call from Iris Rainbird. She says, "£500, Mrs. Lessiter. That's what it'll cost to keep me quiet. Otherwise I've got a story to tell, haven't I?" Barbara is pretty upset after the call.
Barnaby interviews Terry Bazely at the helpline office. She tells Barnaby that Emily said, "I've got to talk to someone. I don't know what to do." That was how she started. Something like that. She said it was unbelievable."
The next morning, Barnaby gets breakfast- Bacon, scrambled egg and toast- and Troy turns up "I got that medical report from Dr. Bullard, sir. Struck with a heavy object as yet unidentified at the base of the neck. Looks like Emily Simpson was murdered after all. Oh, and I got those photographs that you wanted developed. The ones from the her camera. Looks like she found that flower." Barnaby gets up without finishing breakfast.
The detectives and police search the wood for the orchid, along with Lucy Bellringer. They find the orchid and it has Emily's stake. Barnaby says, "She found something and it upset her enough..." Barnaby runs down a hill and looks on the ground. The grass is flattened and brambles broken. Troy says, "You think someone's been having it away? Two people bonking?" Barnaby finds a piece of cloth stuck on a bramble. Probably from a rug or a blanket. Barnaby says he wants the whole place gone over. Troy tells the uniforms he wants the whole place gone over.
Troy wonders why someone would kill her just because they were having sex. Troy says, "Why would they want to kill her? Unless it was adultery. I suppose they could have been ass bandits." Barnaby says, "You mean homosexuals, Troy. You are as politically correct as a Nuremberg rally."
Barnaby sees a house with a tower. It has a room with a view. They ring the doorbell and Iris Rainbird invites them in. Iris is a large woman dressed in a flowing floral dress with several necklaces. She tells her son to bring tea. Barnaby says that it seems that she must see a lot from her aerie. Iris says she is a keen observer of wildlife. Dennis Rainbird brings tea and sandwiches. "The clubs are anchovy. Salmon spread in the hearts. Marmite spades and potted-meat diamonds," he says. Iris says she did see someone- Katherine Lacey. She lives in Holly Cottage just the other side of the village from Emily Simpson's place. She lives with her brother, Michael Lacey, an artist. If Barnaby wants to talk to her, try Tye House. She's getting married next week. It's the talk of the whole village. Iris says Katherine had one of her dogs with her and was carrying an envelope so she must have been going to the post office. She also mentions a Bella Trace who died a few years ago.
Barnaby heads home to see his daughter, Cully Barnaby. She greets him. He asks what happened to the green hair and the tattoo. They were temporary. Cully has the lead part in a play, "Tis a Pity She's a Whore." She's come home to learn her lines.
Terry Bazely calls. She just remembered what Emily Simpson said: "Just like poor Annabella." Then Emily hung up.
Dennis Rainbird walks in the house with a rug. He found it in the pond behind the quarry. He saw it thrown in tied round some stones. Iris kisses him and says, "Who's a good boy?"
Troy and Barnaby head to Tye House. Troy almost runs over a cyclist on the way. Troy tells Barnaby all he could find was that Bella Trace was shot in a hunting accident. Tye House sits on a huge estate. They meet David Whitely, estate manager. Henry Trace is in a wheelchair in the drawing room. Barnaby tells him that Miss Simpson referred to his late wife as "Poor Annabella." Henry says "You've got the wrong Bella."
Flashback: Two years ago. Henry Trace, Bella Trace and her sister Phyllis Cadell were there. Dr. Lessiter was also there. Michael Lacey was there as a beater. Bella tripped on a root and twisted her ankle rather badly. Michael was standing next to her and she was shot. He ran back to Tye house for an ambulance. Anyone of them could have fired the shot. Katherine Lacey walks in. She is to be married to Henry Trace next Saturday. She says she was home all evening. Then she says, "Oh, wait. I did go out. I went into the village to post a letter. I took Benjy with me." Katherine tells him that Henry looked after Michael and herself after their parents died. As a guardian.
Plot, Part 3[]
Barnaby goes to talk to Phyllis Cadell. She is watching a quiz show in her room. She hears the word police and drops her box of candy. Phyllis has looked after the house for 7 years. She came with her sister, Bella. She never thought Henry would marry again. After the wedding, she is being pensioned off to a cottage on the estate.
On their way out, Troy comments that Phyllis' reaction was pathetic in the sense that she obviously lied and was scared of them. He then asks Barnaby which death are they investigating anymore, Bella or Emily, to which Barnaby replies that since both took place in the same village, surrounding the same individuals, they are investigating both.
The detectives go to interview Michael Lacey. They knock on the front door and then go around to the back. He says he was painting so he didn't answer the door. Michael claims he has nothing to do with the village. He mostly stays at home. He says he was with Bella Trace when she was shot and ran for help at Tye House. His sister is going to marry Henry Trace. "Tye House, 5,000 acres. Tons of money in the bank. I'll say one thing for Katherine. She certainly doesn't come cheap."
Cully rehearses her lines with her mother. "This noble creature was in every part so angel-like, so glorious, that a woman, who was not human, as was I..." Joyce says, "Who had not been but human. Cully says, "who had not been but human, as was I, would have kneeled to him and begged for love. You! Why, you are not worthy once to name his name without true worship, or, indeed, unless you kneeled, to have another name him."
Dennis Rainbird prepares for a funeral. Iris Rainbird is dressed up for the funeral. Dr. Lessiter wants to know why his wife withdrew 500 pounds from their joint account. She says it is for their anniversary. Judith walks in and out. The funeral procession goes forth.
Barnaby muses about the case: "Mrs. Rainbird's no more a birdwatcher than I am. So what's she been using those binoculars for? And that son of hers, with his personalized Porsche. Where did he get the money to pay for that? Dr. Lessiter tells me he spent Wednesday afternoon watching the test match. There was no test match. Rain stopped play! And his wife's just as bad. She was shopping in Causton all day on Wednesday? It's early closing. Katherine Lacey tells us she never left the house on Wednesday afternoon. Except that she was seen. So, suddenly it's another story... She went to post a letter. Then there's the question of Bella Trace and the shooting accident...Henry Trace's story, what he told us... There's something wrong. Something doesn't add up... He wasn't telling us the truth. Michael Lacey. Why did he run all that way back to Tye House to call the ambulance when the accident happened on the other side of the village? Why didn't he call the ambulance from there? And why, that day of all days, did Phyllis Cadell decide to shoot? Which one of them, Troy? Which one?"
Lucy Bellringer invites Barnaby and Troy to come and have a sherry, She says she remembers the day Bella died. "It was terrible. Henry Trace was already in a wheelchair- Polio. Bella never coped with it very well. You know, when she died, I always thought he'd marry Phyllis. She adored him. Still does, for all I know. Katherine Lacey- she's Henry's ward. She and Michael, her brother... When their parents died, in a car crash, Henry sort of adopted them and set them up in the gamekeeper's cottage on the estate. They were very young then. Barely into their teens. Oh, and there was a nanny. Mary Sharpe. She was meant to look after them, but she had a terrible time...The children were always fighting. Endless rows. In the end, Mary upped and left, and now she's retired down on the coast. If you ask me, Katherine's the one to look out for. That girl is far too beautiful for other peoples' good. If she was found "bonking" in the wood, she has the most to lose. You did say Katherine was seen in the village." Barnaby says, "Yes. She was seen walking her dog." Lucy says, "Oh, well, there was no dog here that night. Wellington goes crazy if a dog comes anywhere near." Troy says, "She could have tied it up somewhere and come here alone." Lucy says, "Hm. Not that dog. She sometimes ties it up outside the post office. It barks its head off. You'd have heard it a mile away."
MURDER 3, 4: At the Rainbirds, Dennis and Iris are enjoying their tea. Iris says, "I think it all went terribly well, Dennis. Beautiful service. You know, I think I deserve another marron lyonnaise. "( Chuckles ) ( Doorbell rings ) Dennis goes to open the door. "Oh. It's you." says Dennis. Iris says, "Oh, who is it, Dennis?" Dennis walks in slowly clutching his neck. He collapses. Someone with a bloody knife attacks Iris.
Plot, Part 4[]
Dr. George Bullard says to the detectives, "Did you see the mother? Head almost clean off. I've never seen such ferocity." Barnaby asks, "Murder weapon?" Bullard replies, "Knife. 10 inches long and heavy. They must have taken it with them." Troy says to Barnaby, "You'd better come and take a look at this. You're not gonna believe it." In the "Crows Nest" at the top of the house, there are binoculars looking out on the village. In the little black books, there are notes. Troy says, "Listen to this. "At 10:30 a.m., Mr. and Mrs. 'W' crossed over by post box" to avoid Miss 'G.' 11:14 a.m. ... 'A' called on Mrs. 'S.' "Stayed 15 minutes." There must be a couple of hundred entries in this file alone. I mean, thousands of them over the years. We're going to have to go through the lot of them. They didn't miss anything. Including the murder of Emily Simpson. And maybe of Bella Trace too." Troy asks, "Blackmail, sir? You think that was the Rainbirds' game?" Barnaby says, "Look, Troy. The last page has been torn out. Looks like they made one entry too many."
The cleaning lady, Anna says, "She wasn't a bad old stick. She was a bit peculiar. Her and her son. Him being an undertaker and all. But she was very good to me." She starts sobbing. Barnaby asks if she saw anyone come to the house. Anna says she did. "She was standing at the front door as I came, holding a basket. She'd been pressing the doorbell, but... but she'd gone when I arrived. It was Katherine Lacey. You know. The one who's getting wed." Barnaby and Troy head to Holly Cottage. They overhear Michael and Katherine arguing inside. When the pair go off, Barnaby and Troy search the cottage. The door to Michael's studio is locked.
Barnaby goes home. He looks over the Rainbirds notebooks. Cully comes in. Barnaby tells her, "Iris Rainbird took neighborhood watch to unheard of extremes. You wouldn't think, would you, one small village could have so much trouble bubbling away under the surface." " Was it very horrid? The bodies," asks Cully. Barnaby says, "I've seen worse. I think... You know what really bothered me, Cully? I didn't feel anything. Not for Iris Rainbird. Or her son. All I could think about was, just another death. Gets the machinery moving again. More clues. More statements. But I am one more step further down the road."
Barnaby and Troy go to Tye House. Henry Trace says, "I'm glad you're here. Voice of sanity. Katherine wants to cancel the wedding. I don't know what to say to her. 200 people coming. Caterers. Presents. Everything's organized." Katherine says, "First Miss Simpson. Now the Rainbirds. How can we have a wedding? How can we even think of it?" Katherine tells Barnaby that she took mushrooms over to Iris Rainbird's house.
Barnaby arrests Phyllis Cadell on suspicion of the murder of Bella Trace on the 26th of June, 1995. Phyllis admits to killing Bella. She tells Barnaby that it was Bella who brought her to Tye House to help with Henry. "He was in that wheelchair, and she just couldn't cope. I did everything for him. And he was... so grateful. And then I began to realize... that if Bella wasn't there, if it was just the two of us... him and me..." So she decided to kill her. "I'd learned how to handle a gun when I was quite young. It's something one does in the country. And then, that day, I said I was going to join them on the shoot. I didn't really have a plan, it was all very confused. People shooting all over the place. I took a hip flask filled with vodka and I kept on drinking. It was the only way that I could get the courage. All the dead birds, the noise, the blood. Made me feel sick and dizzy. I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. And Bella was always so close to me or else there'd be someone between her and me. And then she walked away. She was talking to one of the beaters. And I knew I had my chance. It all happened so quickly. I... No one saw me. I doubled back behind the trees and managed to hide. Then I waited until I had a clear shot. And then... I shot her. It was terrible. I saw her pitch forward and fall to the ground. And then I just panicked. I got up, and I ran and I ran. I went to my room and locked myself in. I was shaking." She thought she had got away with it. Then Mrs. Rainbird started blackmailing her. £50,000 her mother had left her. And Henry gave her some of Bella's jewelry- it's all gone. They'd even stopped asking her; They knew they'd cleared her out. Phyllis didn't kill Iris Rainbird though. You don't give someone all your money and then decide to kill them. Barnaby thinks there is something wrong with the story about the shooting party.
The detectives speak to David Whitely. He had been seeing Barbara Lessiter. Dr. Lessiter's wife. They had been seeing each other awhile. Mrs. Rainbird tried to blackmail Barbara but he told her not to pay. David says he saw Michael Lacey at the Rainbird house. He was wearing his denims and that... that cap he wears. He was driving past, and he saw Dennis open the door.
Michael Lacey denies going to Mrs. Rainbird's house. The police search the house and they find a bloody knife. They put him in a car to take him into Causton. Michael sees Katherine and says he's been framed. He makes a frame with his hands.
Plot, Part 5[]
Barnaby has a nightmare about the wedding. Terry Basely says "Just like poor Annabella," Joyce has a basket of mushrooms on her lap. Iris and Dennis Rainbird are in the audience. Joyce wakes him up.
SUICIDE 1: Phyllis Cadell has killed herself while in custody. Barnaby feels guilty- they should have put her on suicide watch.
Michael Lacey wants to speak to the detectives. He says he was doing a portrait of Judith Lessiter, the doctor's girl. She was with him from midmorning until about 7:00 at night. Judith tells the police he was doing her portrait. Barnaby confronts Dr. Lessiter about his lie about the test match and Lessiter says he was with a lady.
The detectives go back to search Lacey's studio. They find nothing, but yesterday there was something.
Barnaby tells Joyce he knows who did it. He and Troy are going to Brighton. Barnaby says, "That's it. The mirror. That's how they knew."
Barnaby and Troy go to speak to Mary Sharpe. She says, "I was with them, I suppose... for about nine years. They were never easy children. But of course, under the circumstances, one had to make allowances. Michael was 18 and Katherine was 17 when it started- the rows. They were always finding fault with each other. Every day it was a slanging match. She'd scream at him, and he'd fling himself out of the house. I don't know how much longer I could have stood it, I tell you. But... all the time I had a feeling there was something wrong, something false about the arguments, as if they were put on for me. And then... One night, I couldn't sleep. (Flashback: Mary heard a noise and the door is ajar. She sees them having sex. She dropped her coffee cup. They laugh.) I never told anybody. I'd been with them for nine years. I just couldn't. I told Mr. Trace that I wanted to retire, and I moved down here." Barnaby asks, "Did you ever speak to Emily Simpson after you left?" Mary says, "She was my best friend when I was at Badger's Drift, and we did write afterwards. But I-I never told her anything. Then... when I heard about her death, I... I did wonder. But I wasn't to know. And anyway, how could I betray them? I loved them, you see? (starts sobbing) Whatever they'd done, I did love them!"
Plot Denouement[]
Barnaby and Troy head back to Badger's Drift from Brighton. Barnaby surmises that Emily must have seen Michael and Katherine in the woods. That's what shocked her. First she phoned the helpline and then Mary Sharpe. Barnaby says Katherine Lacey did the killing. Michael was at home and he had the dog. Judith Lessiter spoke to him through the door. Katherine Lacey set it up to look like an accident. And if it hadn't have been for an observant neighbor and an unlocked tricycle, we'd never have been any the wiser. As for the Rainbirds, Katherine stabbed them and then she put the knife and the blood-soaked overalls into the basket. What Mrs. Quine saw was Katherine leaving, not arriving. Then, she put the knife in her brother's studio. Michael had set himself up with a perfect alibi... Judith Lessiter's portrait. They made it look as if he was guilty. When he's the one person who couldn't have done it.
Bella Trace was just a freak chance- Wrong place, wrong time. Phyllis Cadell thought she had killed Bella Trace. But she was inexperienced, nervous and had been drinking. Phyllis told them that Bella was talking to Michael Lacey. What she didn't realize was that he was already separating her from the group, setting her up to be shot... not by Phyllis but by Katherine. Everything was confused, Phyllis fired and missed. Probably by miles, if the truth were only known. When Phyllis Cadell turned and ran home, Bella was still alive. And a few minutes later, Michael Lacey took her aside again to give the real marksman a clear aim. If Michael Lacey was a beater, what was he doing walking with Bella Trace? He should have been up ahead, scaring the birds. He ran all the way back to Tye House to delay the ambulance as long as possible. Katherine Lacey doubled back to the house as well. They killed Bella to clear the way for Katherine to marry Henry. For the money. Barnaby says, "I wouldn't be surprised if they started on him already. Slow poisoning or something."
When the detectives arrive at Tye House, Katherine is gone and nobody has seen her. Barnaby says, "Mary Sharpe. Oh, the stupid woman! She told them."
MURDER 5, SUICIDE 2: Katherine and Michael are in the woods. Michael shoots Katherine and then himself.
The police find a portrait of Katherine, nude, and show it to Miss Bellringer. It was hidden upstairs and when they arrested the brother, he managed to shout to her, "I've been framed." And he made the sign of a square. It was a coded message to warn her to remove the picture. Lucy says, "It's very powerful. It's brilliant, even, in its own way. He had talent. But it's so twisted." Barnaby says, "I almost guessed it. When we came here. The three bedrooms and only one bed slept in. They pulled the wool right over my eyes. That time we came here and they were arguing. They really did seem to hate each other, didn't they? And they couldn't have staged it for our benefit because they didn't know we were here. Except that they did. They saw us in the mirror. And they did put on a show."
Barnaby and Joyce go to the play that Cully is in. On the way, Joyce says, "I hope you're not going to fall asleep in this." Barnaby says, "I wouldn't dream of it." Joyce says "Anyway, after what you've just been through, a study of incest should be right up your street." Cully as Annabella in the play says, "Comes this in sadness from you? Let some mischief befall me soon, if I dissemble all. You are my brother, Giovanni." The male actor says, "You my sister, Annabella. I know this." Tom Barnaby laughs and says, "Annabella."
Cast[]
- John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby
- Daniel Casey as DS Gavin Troy
- Jane Wymark as Joyce Barnaby
- Laura Howard as Cully Barnaby
- Barry Jackson as Dr. George Bullard
- Renée Asherson as Emily Simpson (as Renee Asherson)
- Rosalie Crutchley as Lucy Bellringer
- Jonathan Firth as Michael Lacey
- Emily Mortimer as Katherine Lacey
- Julian Glover as Henry Trace
- Selina Cadell as Phyllis Cadell
- Christopher Villiers as David Whitely
- Richard Cant as Dennis Rainbird
- Elizabeth Spriggs as Iris Rainbird
- Bill Wallis as Dr. Trevor Lessiter
- Diana Hardcastle as Barbara Lessiter
- Jessica Hynes as Judith Lessiter (as Jessica Stevenson)
- Barbara Young as Anne Quine
- Avril Elgar as Mary Sharpe
- Cory Pulman as Terry Bazely
- Peter Jordan as Counseller 1
- Marlene Sidaway as Counseller 2
- Jonathan Oliver as Counseller 3
- Simon Godwin as Giovanni
- Neil Conrich as Duty Police Officer
- Paul Putner as Policeman
- Nigel Asbridge as Vicar
- Guy Normas as Grave Digger (uncredited)
Galleries[]
Body Count[]
Prior to the Episode
Died in a car accident with his wife 9 years ago.
Died in a car accident with her husband 9 years ago.
Lured to an open spot and shot in the chest with a shotgun from distance on the 26th of June 1995.
In the Episode
Broken neck after being struck from behind and the body was arranged at the bottom of her stairs to appear as natural causes/an accident.
Throat slit with a butcher's knife.
Stabbed multiple times in the chest and neck with a butcher's knife right after Dennis.
Committed suicide while in police custody.
Shot with a shotgun - part of the suicide pact with Michael.
Committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun after "helping" Katherine.
Supporting Cast[]
Episodes images[]
Arrests[]
- Katherine Lacey murdered...
This is the first time a murderer dies before they can be arrested by Barnaby and Troy.
- Michael Lacey murdered Katherine Lacey and then shot himself.
This is the second time a murderer dies before they can be arrested.
Notes[]
- The following actors and actresses from the pilot episode of the series have appeared in subsequent episodes:
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode to be adapted from a novel by Caroline Graham. However, there are some differences between the script of the episode and the book:
- In the book, both Barnaby's parents are still alive and featured, but in the show, it is revealed later in the series, at different times, that both of his parents must have been dead during the events of the episode.
- The Gavin Troy of the book is less clever than the one in the show, he's married to Maureen and he has a daughter.
- George Bullard's second name in the book is not George, but Jim.
- In the episode, Emily Simpson dies from a broken neck after being struck from behind, but in the book, she was poisoned with hemlock in her red wine.
- In the episode, both Iris Rainbird and her son are brutally murdered, but in the book, only Mrs. Rainbird is killed. Some scenes in the episode even refer only to her death, suggesting that originally the episode followed the original plot of the story, but then it was decided that two murders are better than one.
- This is the first episode to reveal the name of an episode location in it's title. The other episodes are Strangler's Wood, The Green Man, The Maid in Splendour, The Killings of Copenhagen, The Incident at Cooper Hill, The Ghost of Causton Abbey, The Lions of Causton and The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy.
- Neil Conrich and Christopher Villiers were the first actors to originate recurring characters in the series, Conrich's character of Police Constable Angel appeared in four subsequent episodes concluding in Birds of Prey, and Villiers' character David Whitely later appeared in the Series Two episode entitled Death's Shadow.
- Elizabeth Spriggs and Richard Cant later portrayed Iris Rainbird's sister, Ursula Gooding and nephew Alistair Gooding respectively in the second episode of Series Nine entitled Dead Letters.
- Barbara Young's daughter, Liza Pulman, is the singer at the 50's dance in Dance with the Dead. Her other daughter, Cory Pulman. is in this episode.
- First episode where Cully Barnaby is rehearsing or in a play- 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.
- The license plate on the undertaker's Porsche is RIP 1.
- Midsomer is a fictional English county. The series itself is mostly filmed in and around Oxfordshire.
- In 2021 Buckinghamshire tourism launched three themed tours of locations in the county that had been featured in the series.
- Julian Glover's (Henry Trace) wife Isla Blair and son Jamie Glover also played leading roles in future episodes; Season 6 "Death and Dreams" and Season 9 "Last Year's Model", respectively.
Romantic Entanglements:
In case of confusion, here is who is into who:
- Henry Trace was married to Bella Trace, but she was murdered 2 years ago in what appeared to be a shooting accident. Now he is set to marry Katherine Lacey.....
- Who is actually sleeping with her brother Michael Lacey....
- Who is pretending to be attracted to Judith Lessiter...
- Who is the daughter of Trevor Lessiter who is married to Barbara Lessiter (not Judith's mom).
- Barbara is having an affair with David Whitely.
- Phyllis Cadell was Bella Trace's sister but has been in love with Henry Trace for years.
The Trials and Tribulations of DS Gavin Troy:
- DS Troy thinks investigating the death of Emily Simpson is a waste of time.
- Troy remarks to Barnaby, "You're taking it seriously are you?" Barnaby, "No Troy, I'm just filling in time until tea."
- Troy isn't very politically correct referring to people "Bonking."
- Troy has really bad driving skills and almost runs down a bicyclist before swerving to the other side of the road into the grass.
Quotes[]
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Goofs[]
- When Troy is driving and nearly hits the cyclist, there is a shot of the interior of the car, and the speedometer needle doesn't move.
- When Barnaby and Troy first get to Brighton, a car pulls out in front of them in a dangerous manner and Troy yells "Why don't you look in your mirror?", however, if the driver had looked in his mirror all he would have seen is the wall he was pulling away from. It would have been more effective to shout "Why don't you look where you're going?"
Videos[]
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