The House In The Woods
Jason Hughes - Joining the Series
Jason Hughes was
ideally placed to play a policeman in MIDSOMER MURDERS - because
he's already passed the Met's entrance exam several times over.
"When I left drama school I worked for the Met for about a year, helping to
train their examiners by doing role play mock interviews. I had to do a lot of
work pretending that I wanted to join the police. They told me I would have got
in, I don't know if that's worrying or not!
"My sister's also a policewoman, based in South Wales, and my grandfather
was a sergeant who became a crime prevention officer. So there's definitely some
kind of cop thing going on in the family - though when I told my sister I'd be
playing a detective in MIDSOMER MURDERS she just laughed."
Jason plays Ben Jones, a PC who is seconded by DCI Barnaby (John Nettles) after
a gruesome double murder in the woods outside Midsomer Newton.
"Jones grew up in the area and he's an enthusiastic copper who's given an
opportunity to come out of uniform. He's bright and wants to learn so he loves
it when he's given a chance to work with DCI Barnaby. He'll stand and listen but
sometimes he can't help himself asking a question or throwing an idea into the
pot.
"I'm a bit like him because when things interest me, I like to get involved
and know as much as I can about something. I'm not half-hearted. But we're very
different people and come from different backgrounds. I'm Welsh and he's not,
and I have a family and he doesn't."
Jason was delighted to get the chance to work alongside John Nettles.
"John's been terrific. He's such a lovely guy - incredibly generous and
calm. He's very easy to be around and I'm sure the good feeling on set is
largely down to the way he is. Joining the series was an easy choice because I
knew I was going into something of a good standard and quality. The whole team
have made me feel really welcome."
Born in Porthcawl, South Wales, Jason represented his country at rugby before
turning to acting. He trained at LAMDA and got his big break playing Warren in
acclaimed drama This Life.
His other credits include The Flint Street Nativity, Harry Enfield's Brand
Spanking New Show, Plain Jane, Mine All Mine, and the feature films Phoenix
Blue, Shooters, Killing Me Softly as well as the forthcoming Red Mercury and
Dead Long Enough.
Jason lives in Hove with his wife, acclaimed jewellery designer Natasha Dahlberg,
and their children Molly, six, and nine-month-old baby Max. This year he has
also made a short film, Mable's Story, about spiritualists and ghosts, with his
Cardiff-based production company Spinning Head.