Midsomer Murders

Series 20 - Episode 1 The Ghost of Causton Abbey

Saturday 7pm - 9pm ITV3

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Review

by David Brown

When people drown in Midsomer Murders, they rarely do so in anything so mundane as water. Over the years, I’ve seen victims expire in a cauldron of tomato soup, casks of cider and mulberry wine and now – perhaps most gruesomely of all – in a boiling vat of beer. But then the main joy of this show comes not from watching its stars (Neil Dudgeon still permanently looks as though he’s managed to rub salt into a mouth ulcer), but in witnessing the lurid ways in which the supporting characters are bumped off.

Among those in danger in the breezy, brewery-set mystery that opens series 20 are guest actors Anita Harris and Elaine Paige. What’s baffling, though, is why the pair aren’t given the opportunity to do at least a little singing. At one point, Barnaby even offers up the perfect chance when he says of the deceased: “We have to find someone who knew him well.” To which Paige should really have appeared and sung: “I knew him so well.”

Summary

A disused abbey that is believed to be cursed is about to be turned into a pub, a decision that has angered many superstitious locals - not to mention the real ale society. The day after the launch night, the curse appears to have claimed a victim - a body is found boiled to death in a kettle of beer, in a manner very similar to an infamous execution on the site in the 16th century. Elaine Paige guest stars, while Annette Badland joins the cast as new pathologist Fleur Perkins.

Cast & Crew

DCI John Barnaby Neil Dudgeon

DS Jamie Winter Nick Hendrix

Sarah Barnaby Fiona Dolman

Sylvia Reynolds Elaine Paige

Emani Taylor Amber Aga

Fleur Perkins Annette Badland

Keith Grundy Michael Byrne

Russell Grundy Tony Gardner

Jenny Moss Angela Griffin

Irene Taylor Anita Harris

Paul Taylor Jason Merrells

Faiza Jindal Anjli Mohindra

Young Sylvia Beth Cooke

Brother Jozef John Cummins

Toby Grundy Zebb Dempster

Kwame Asante Chu Omambala

Adam Osoba Justin Pierre

Director Matt Carter

Executive Producer Michele Buck

Executive Producer Jonathan Fisher

Producer Guy Hescott

Writer Helen Jenkins

Drama

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