John Nettles in Midsomer Murders

John Nettles interview

Published: Monday, 18 June 2007, 5:05PM

We caught up with DCI Barnaby to discuss Midsomer Murders' most bizarre deaths and more.

John Nettles said: “There’s something warped about the nature of our writers, they come up with extraordinary ways of killing people.

“There’s nothing to compare with the one where Oliver Ford Davies was pinned down by croquet hoops on his lawn and catapulted with bottles of his vintage wine, while his wife directed proceedings from an upstairs bedroom. It doesn’t come more baroque than that.

“In another episode, Barnaby was set up in what looked like a sexual peccadillo.

“A photograph surfaced in which he is kissing a woman. The woman was played by Liza Goddard, who was my girlfriend in Bergerac, and it was lovely to see her again. She’s worn considerably better than me.

“One of the joys of Midsomer Murders is working with stars like Joss Ackland, Richard Briers or Richard Todd.

“I’d like to get Michael Gambon and Greta Scacchi in, and I think Roger Moore has expressed an interest in playing a dead body. I’d be hugely pleased to see him. I’ve loved him since he drove that Volvo in The Saint.”

John is a fan of other TV police series and detective fiction.

“I love forensic shows and especially CSI, where the nature of the storytelling is wonderful as is the casting," he said. "I’d watch David Caruso in CSI: Miami forever.

“I also like books by Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. They’re very pacily written, but if you set out your stall to do grizzly things and exotic deaths it’s hard to keep topping it the next time.”

John also keeps his eye on news reports about real crimes

“I find the logistics and methodology of the real police fascinating," he said. "It’s such an imperfect art - 90 per cent perspiration and 10 per cent inspiration.

“There are all kinds of pressures on policemen today, not just catching the killer but informing the media and public, with the Home Office breathing down your neck, and budgets.”

John is keenly aware that some TV police shows are sometimes accused of assisting criminals

“I think reconstructions of real-life cases can help them because if you have knowledge of the methodology of the police given from the detail of real cases you’re going to subvert that," he said.

“But I don’t think anyone’s going to learn anything from Midsomer Murders. The murders aren’t real in that sense; they’re removed from the real world by some distance and it’s more of a crossword puzzle. Please God, the criminals would follow Midsomer Murders because they’d leave so many clues behind.”

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