‘Legend Tom kept us on our toes’
Actor Neil Dudgeon tells us how cosy crime drama Midsomer Murders has always attracted big names, including it’s latest guest star Tom Conti
Tom Conti had just finished playing iconic scientist Albert Einstein in the Oscar-winning smash hit Oppenheimer when he set his sights on a new ambition – Midsomer Murders.
Or so the 82-year-old told DCI John Barnaby actor Neil Dudgeon when he arrived on set to film the latest instalment of STV’s long-running crime drama. Tom plays retired DI Sebastian Cabot, who used to be Barnaby’s old gaffer and is now living in a posh retirement estate for ex-coppers. As usual, it’s all sunshine and smiles, until somebody gets murdered. This time the victim is newly retired DCS Elaine Bennet, in new story The Debt Of Lies.
“Tom had just finished filming Oppenheimer and he put feelers out saying he’d like to do an episode with Midsomer Murders because he liked the show and he hadn’t done one,” said Neil. “It was very exciting for us all to have him there. I have always admired Tom since I was a very young person seeing him on the telly.”
Paisley-born Tom has starred in Shirley Valentine, The Dark Knight Rises and Paddington 2, and Neil found playing opposite him fascinating as he kept changing his delivery.
“He has this distinct lilting style and it keeps you on your toes,” said Neil. “Tom keeps playing with the line and you never know when he’s coming to the end and you have to get in with your line. He’s a very charming, hilarious and lovely man.”
With a new murder plot to be unravelled by Barnaby and his colleague DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) in each episode, Midsomer Murders attracts an array of guest stars and has hosted showbiz heavyweights including Dame Imelda Staunton, Dame Harriet Walter and Timothy West.
As well as drawing established names, the show has also been a springboard for A-list talents such as Colin Farrell, Orlando Bloom and Olivia Colman.
One of the most memorable guest stars Neil has worked with is The Day Of The Jackal star
Edward Fox. Neil, who’s played DCI Barnaby since 2011, said: “My first episode starred David Warner who played an iconic Hamlet in the 60s and my second episode had Edward Fox in it. I remember talking to him about The Day Of The Jackal and asking him how he did it. It was fantastic.”
When Claire Bloom, now 93, appeared in 2015, she regaled Neil and Nick with her tales of starring with late greats Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
However, now Neil is 63 himself, he admitted it’s getting rarer for him to work with a childhood hero. He laughed: “Now the older artists we get on the show are not much older than me!”
Midsomer Murders has a reputation for being a fun show to work on and Neil certainly enjoyed himself filming The Debt Of Lies.
The episode features a vintage fair where DS Winter ends up in the stocks being pelted with wet sponges by his boss. Neil doesn’t mind admitting he enjoyed getting those scenes just right. “When it comes to pelting Nick with wet sponges, it takes a lot of rehearsal,” laughed Neil.
“He hasn’t had his revenge yet but it’s part of his job to get hit by sponges and wrestle villains in the mud and it’s my job to stand back and go, ‘Chase him! Quickly!’”
Neil loves Midsomer and has filmed more than 60 episodes, however he’s sad he no longer gets offered other roles. “I’d probably like to do other stories as well,” he said. “It’s hard to know why people don’t come to you to do other things as much as they once did. For 25 years, I did a variety of things.
“If you become particularly known for one part, then you are perceived as carrying that character with you. So ideally, while still doing Barnaby, I would want to do something that’s very, very different from Midsomer.”
The series is usually wrapped up by September, which is when Strictly starts. So could the ballroom fill Neil’s autumn schedule? “I can’t dance,” said Neil. “I’ve never been able to dance in an organised way, I’m bad at being taught how to do something and my knee is a bit iffy.”
In fact, the idea of appearing on a reality show such as I’m A Celebrity is enough to have Neil feeling very grateful for Midsomer Murders.
He added: “The jungle is too hot! These are the reasons I keep going back to Midsomer, it’s not too hot and I don’t have to lift anyone over my head.”
Nick hasn’t had his revenge yet for being hit by wet sponges