Douglas Watkinson is currently writing a new Midsomer Murders episode for series 10. It's about ramblers.

February 2006 UPDATED

The new episodes of series 9 will be shown in late summer and autumn this year.

Four Funerals And A Wedding- Summer 2006 TBC
Country Matters- Summer 2006 TBC
Murder In Chorus- Autumn 2006 TBC
Last Year's Model- Autumn 2006 TBC

John Nettles will, on the 3rd December, be turning on the christmas lights in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.
If you want to see John Nettles turn on the lights on the Tree of Life, it's outside the Town Hall, at 4.30 pm.

Good news: It's now confirmed that "The House in the Woods", the first episode of series 9 will be shown the 9th October on ITV.

Manchester Online has published another John Nettles interview, friday the 30th September:

John Nettles has no plans to retire. "While there's still people standing in Midsomer, I'll be here. I've got a long way to go yet," he grins.

Det Chief Insp Tom Barnaby is back in the first of two new films which launch the ninth series of Midsomer Murders (ITV1, Sunday, 9pm).

A story called Midsomer Rhapsody marks the departure of sidekick Det Sgt Dan Scott, played by John Hopkins, after two years. Nettles, 61, admits he was surprised by his co-star's decision to quit. "But he's an ambitious fellow and I think he felt that he wanted to move on. I wish him well because he's a very fine actor indeed."

Next weekend's film - The House In The Woods - sees the arrival of acting Det Con Ben Jones, played by former This Life and Mine All Mine actor Jason Hughes. "It was an easy choice, because I knew I was going into something which was of high quality," says the new boy in Midsomer.

Although Nettles is aware he can't go on forever, he looks set to stay in his role for a little while yet. With the 50th episode now filmed, ITV has ordered eight two-hour films a year. The series is a big earner both in the UK and abroad - now sold to some 206 countries.

"I'm not the oldest policeman," protests John. "Dixon of Dock Green was 80 when he finally hung up his slippers, which he used to wear on set. I'm hoping for a sir-dom. If David Jason can get one, there's hope for us all!"

Producing the equivalent of eight feature films every 12 months is quite a workload for all those involved in the series. "It will not run and run, obviously, but it has a few years left in it yet, I would think.

"Our producer is a slave driver. As soon as we make them, they're put out, still warm from the cutting room. But eight is a lot, particularly when you're dealing with very old actors...and not just myself. When you get temperatures below freezing, as you do come January, February and March when we shoot, it gets pretty dangerous. We've got to get in quick before they drop off the twig," he laughs.

After all the problems at the car company, his Rover has been replaced by a Jaguar X-Type. "What's happened with Rover is so tragic as to be unbelievable," says John, who lives in the Midlands, near Stratford- upon-Avon. "It's very sad to see.

"I wanted an old three-litre Rover - one of those 1970s jobs. And then we discovered it was the car of choice for every gangster. So the idea was dropped."

He believes Midsomer Murders continues to command such huge ratings because it combines all the elements of the traditional English whodunnit. "It's got all the characters we know and love from a largely mythical English society - the homosexual vicar, the pathological spinster.

"And all these characters occupy a world that people like to wallow in on Sunday nights, with a bit of occasional violence thrown in - a few bodies round the place." There's comforting news for those who have no luck in spotting those Midsomer murderers.

Fans also send him presents, including one rather obsessive woman who enclosed expensive jewellery, promptly sent back by John's wife.

"It's a bit difficult sometimes. I don't honestly know how to deal with that kind of thing. I don't think anybody does. It doesn't just happen to me. It happens to a lot of people who happen to be on television for one reason or another."

Others think he's a real police officer. "When I was living in Jersey, this chap fell off a cliff. A little lad who was with him asked me to call the police, which I did.

"The inshore lifeboat was scrambled, the fire brigade and cliff rescue people turned up, and they kept asking me for instructions. I had to tell them I was an actor and nobody had written me a script for it."

September 2005
The last episode of series 8, Midsomer Rhapsody, will be shown on ITV1 October 2nd.

Local shops and facades were temporarily altered to set the scene, and residents could have been forgiven for thinking they had stepped back in time on Sunday, when part of the street was transformed to represent a flashback to 1953.
During filming for an episode entitled Vixen's Run, the Tourist Information Centre became a library, The Aga Shop became a chemist and The Oxfam Bookshop was transformed into secondhand bookshop Cover to Cover.
Between shoots screen star John Nettles found time to chat to local residents and shopkeepers.
Monica Wright, showroom assistant at The Aga Shop, said: "He came into the shop and had a chat with us and he was extremely affable and charming. He wasn't at all intimidating, and he accidentally left one of his scripts behind which we had a good look at."
Her colleague, Anne Stubbings, added: "The filming was quite repetitive as they did about four or five takes for one scene and then one of the actors forgot his lines so they had to go over it again.
"But it was very interesting to see how the programme is put together. Midsomer Murders has real local interest as it is fun to see if you can recognise where they have been filming.
"Bentley Productions which produces the programme also gave us £200 to donate to a charity of our choice which is Cancer Research."
Another charity to benefit from the event was Thame's Oxfam Bookshop, to which Bentley Productions donated over £1,000.
Dick Jennens, manager, said: "The company visited a month ago, had a look around and asked if they could use us for filming. We have had a couple of interesting responses after they rebadged the shop including one customer who became distraught thinking Oxfam had sold its bookshop to someone else. The crew were very helpful and some of them bought books from us. We are all looking forward to watching the episode in the autumn."
Filming will also be taking place in the High Street on Monday and Tuesday.

August 2005
"I sometimes contemplate, in the early hours of the morning, the horrors of Barnaby's sex life", John Nettles said. He finds his character Tom boring. John has since the sixth season told TV chiefs he wants to bring some romance to Tom Barnaby's life.

August 2005
George Baker will appear as identical twins who try to murder each other in "The House in the Woods": a new Midsomer Murders episode that will be shown on ITV1 in the Autumn.

Midsomer Murders producer, Brian True-May said: “We used a split screen for George’s scene in which the evil twin tries to kill his brother. George is a real pro. He plays identical twins. One has been in jail for a murder that his brother committed and he wants revenge. But we didn’t pay George twice!”

George Baker played Inspector Wexford for 13 years and according to Brian True-May is something of a role model for Midsomer Murders star John Nettles: “George played Wexford until he was nearly 70. And we hope that John - who is 61 - can play DCI Tom Barnaby for as long.”

July 2005
Scott has left Midsomer and will be replaced by DC Ben Jones (Jason Hughes)
Jason is described as: "Natural, likeable, relaxable delivery with a gritty edge from popular and talented actor."
Jason Hughes Filmography: