Midsomer Murders: Fascinating Facts

Midsomer Trivia

Published: Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 5:49PM

Murder aside, Midsomer has plenty of other surprises up its sleeve. Read on for your list of susrprising MM facts...

• As well as a list of guest stars taking in the cream of British acting talent, Olympic rowing star Sir Steve Redgrave appeared in a cameo role as himself in Dead in the Water, filmed at Henley Regatta July 2004.

•The real Midsomer centres around Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, with villages such as Brightwell Baldwin, Chenies, Cookham, Great Haseley, Haddenham, Hambleden, Latimer, Little Missenden, Long Crendon, Nether Winchendon, Nettlebed, Peppard, Stanton St John and Worminghall among the genuine locations featured.

•The Lions of Bledlow in Bledlow has starred as different pubs in four episodes – Dead Man’s Eleven, Blue Herrings, Dark Autumn and The Maid in Splendour.

•The Crown in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, has also been used four times – in Death in Disguise, Death of A Stranger, Death and Dreams and Bad Tidings.

•The Swan at Swann Bottom, The Lee and The Lee itself have been used on countless occasions.  The Lee featured in the first ever Midsomer Murders The Killings at Badgers’s Drift, and also Death of a Hollow Man, Death’s Shadow,
Death of a Stranger and Painted in Blood.

• The Six Bells in Warborough, Oxon was filmed for the episode Left for Dead as part of the 11th series of Midsomer Murders.  Midsomer village Green and High Street and the Six Bells Pub are the locations used, with The Swan Pub as the fictitious location.  

• The Bull & Butcher pub in Turville Heath, Bucks now has a Midsomer Burger on the menu.  The pub and the village was used for Murder on St Malley’s Day; The Straw Woman, and  Dark Autumn.

• The locations are chosen if they have a village green, where traffic can be cut off, and if they have retained the English country atmosphere endemic to the series.

• There has to be full co-operation from the villagers, and quite often the film unit will return again and again to the same village to film.  Every trace of a polystyrene coffee cup is removed.

• More recently, the boundaries of Midsomer have extended to include Henley Regatta, the Devon coastline and Snowdonia.

• Filming is often disrupted during the summer months, fighting against aircraft noise, eternal strimmers, and diligent chainsaw operators who cut through the quiet English countryside.

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