Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on Caroline Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz.

From the pilot episode on 23 March 1997, until 2 February 2011, the lead character, DCI Tom Barnaby, was portrayed by John Nettles.

In February 2009, it was announced that Nettles had decided to leave Midsomer Murders after the conclusion of series 13 in July 2010. When his last episode, "Fit for Murder", aired on 2 February 2011, Nettles had appeared in 81 episodes.John Nettles#cite ref-Telegraph-2009 12-0

Since 2011, the lead character has been DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon), who permanently joined the show following John Nettles' 2011 departure. He is the younger cousin of DCI Tom Barnaby. Like his cousin, John Barnaby works for Causton CID after moving from Brighton.

As of 30 December 2025, 138 episodes have aired on ITV over 24 series in the UK, while a total of 144 episodes have been released (e.g., via streaming in some countries) over 25 series. Air dates may vary from region to region. IMDb lists differing dates, but they may not be UK premiere dates, despite the series being of UK origin.

Cast + Current cast Character Actor/Actress Duration DCI John Barnaby Neil Dudgeon Series 13–present Sarah Barnaby Fiona Dolman Series 14–present Betty Barnaby Isabel Shaw Series 20–present DS Jamie Winter Nick Hendrix Series 19–present Dr Fleur Perkins Annette Badland Series 20–present

+ Former cast Character Actor/Actress Duration DCI Tom Barnaby John Nettles Series 1–13 Joyce Barnaby Jane Wymark Series 1–13 Cully Barnaby Laura Howard Series 1–13 Dr George Bullard Barry Jackson Series 1–14 DS Gavin Troy Daniel Casey Series 1–7 DS Dan Scott John Hopkins Series 7–8 DS Ben Jones Jason Hughes Series 9–15 DC Gail Stephens Kirsty Dillon Series 10–13 Dr Kate Wilding Tamzin Malleson Series 14–17 DS Charlie Nelson Gwilym Lee Series 16–18 Betty Barnaby Abbie and Georgia Mukleen Series 16–19 Dr Kam Karimore Manjinder Virk Series 18–19

Series overview

Episodes Pilot (1997)

Series 1 (1998)

Series 2 (1999)

Series 3 (1999–2000)

Series 4 (2000–2001)

Series 5 (2002)

Series 6 (2003)

Series 7 (2003–2004)

Series 8 (2004–2005)

Series 9 (2005–2006)

Series 10 (2006–2008)

Series 11 (2008–2010)

Series 12 (2009–2010)

Series 13 (2010–2011)

Series 14 (2011–2012)

Series 15 (2012–2013)

Series 16 (2013–2014)

Series 17 (2015)

Series 18 (2016)

Series 19 (2016–2018)

Series 20 (2019–2020)

Series 21 (2020–2021)

Series 22 (2021–2023)

Series 23 (2024)

Series 24 (2025–)

Series 25

Series 26

References

External links Full episode guide at IMDb.com