Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon praises predecessor John Nettles after confirming future on show

Neil Dudgeon has been at the helm of Midsomer Murders since 2011, following the departure of his predecessor, John Nettles. With a 13-year tenure under his belt, the actor has faced questions about his future on the show in recent years, and on Friday he finally gave fans an answer. 

Joining Alison Hammond on This Morning, Neil joked: “Somebody knows something I don’t, somebody is trying to get rid of me. I’m getting the elbow? And this is how I find out?”

Confirming that he has no intentions of leaving, Neil added: “As far as I know I’m still here. We’re shooting next year and last I heard, I’m in it. I haven’t read the scripts yet!”

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After the TV star promised to reprise his role as DCI John Barnaby, Neil continued with his promotional work for Midsomer Murders over the weekend and joined James Martin on the latest episode of Saturday Morning. 

Asked about his journey on the show, Neil explained how he came to be in Midsomer Murders. “When I was first approached about it… obviously, I was a great fan of the show before I ever got in it. 

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“When it was first mentioned to me, I suppose I did have an idea because I loved the show and I was such a great fan, that I thought: ‘I can imagine how I would go into that, and I can do it.’ I loved John [Nettles] and everything he did in it but I thought, ‘I think I can bring something to it and see whether people like it.'”

John Nettles was Midsomer’s original detective, appearing on the show from 1997 to 2011. After deciding to hand the mantle to Neil, the actor has since retired from the entertainment industry and resides in Devon, where he works as a historian. 

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Quizzed by James about his busy schedule on Saturday’s programme, Neil admitted that it’s non-stop. “We spend about four weeks shooting an episode and then we have a prep week before we start shooting the next episode,” he told the TV chef. 

“We kind of go straight from one to the next, but again I think that’s part of the popularity of the show. Another thing that happens because there’s only four of us that are regulars, and then you’ve got another 10 or 15 coming in, is that you finish shooting an episode on the Friday and you’ve torn it to bits and done everything you can with it.

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“Everybody goes home for the weekend and then on Monday, there’s this whole new gang of people – new actors and a new director that are all excited that they’re about to do an episode of Midsomer Murders.”