Midsomer Murders Season 22 is about to begin on ITV. And there is a buzz in the air when DCI Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and his trusty sidekick, DS Jamie Winter, played by Nick Hendrix, find themselves called to beautiful manor house, Apley Court, producers of top of the range honey, for their first investigation.
Welsh actor and comedian Griff Rhys Jones stars as pompous Lord of the Manor and obsessive bee keeper, Ambrose Deddington, who finds himself under attack by a masked assailant and it's not long before a dead body is found, covered in swarming bees.
Midsomer, now on its 22nd series, has kept audiences around the world gripped with its gruesome and madcap murders and is the UK's longest running detective drama.
Filming on some of this year's episodes had to take place under strict Covid guidelines because of the pandemic. Neil, 60, said, "The first morning on set it was quite unnerving seeing everyone socially-distanced and in masks but within 15 minutes of filming I'd slipped back into the wacky world of Midsomer with frightening ease!"
Midsomer Murders Season 22 release date.
Midsomer Murders Season 22 starts on Sunday March 21 at 8pm on ITV. It is likely to be heading to Acorn TV in the US. See below for lots of options to watch past series!
How many episodes will there be?
There will be four new episodes in total.
What intriguing new plots are there in Midsomer Murders and who are the guest stars?
EPISODE ONE: The Sting Of Death
Beautiful manor house, Apley Court which produces top of the range honey, is targeted and the owner attacked by a mystery masked assailant. Before long, a body is discovered on the village green, swarming with bees.
GUEST STARS include Griff Rhys Jones, Imogen Stubbs, Wendi Peters, Jack Fox and Derek Griffiths.
EPISODE TWO: With Baited Breath
Fishermen flock to the village of Solomon Gorge, desperate to catch the mysterious giant fish rumoured to be living in the lake. However, the anglers are up in arms when hundreds of lycra-clad sports enthusiasts descend on the area to take part in the Psycho Mud Run. When a body is found floating in the lake Barnaby and Winter are called to investigate.
GUEST STARS include Aneurin Barnard, Nicola Stephenson, Nitin Ganatra, Miles Jupp and Bronagh Waugh
EPISODE THREE: The Wolf Hunter Of Little Worthy
It’s Halloween and a local photographer wins an urban myth competition with his creation of The Wolf Hunter. But is there really something sinister lurking in the woods for real and has the myth now become a murderous reality?
GUEST STARS include Mark Williams, Siobhan Redmond and Louise Jameson.
EPISODE FOUR: The Stitcher Society
A local outcast, who was acquitted of murder years previously, joins a social health club in Tamworth Springs for recovering heart bypass patients. When the club founder, Reuben, is discovered murdered, the fingers start pointing!
GUEST STARS include Keith Allen, John Thomson, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Nimmy March.
This will be Neil Dudgeon's tenth year in the role of DCI John Barnaby
Neil told us, "I never had any idea it would go on this long. When I first started I thought, 'I'll give it a try and hope I don't destroy the show inside one episode.' That would be very embarrassing after John Nettles had done it so marvellously for 13 years (as DCI Tom Barnaby). But we got through that first series, and when they wanted to do it again, I thought, 'Hurrah'!"
