Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy has yet more inventive killings, bizarre secret societies and a top-notch guest cast for this all-new 2024 Midsomer Murders mystery.
Penned by EastEnders writer Jeff Povey, the whodunnit focuses on some fanatical local doomsday preppers, who find themselves at the mercy of a killer with a penchant for bizarre murder techniques, including death by exploding lifeboat!
Once again DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon), his sidekick DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) and no-nonsense pathologist Dr Fleur Perkins (Annette Badland) must grapple with strange locals, past secrets and one or two red herrings to crack the case.
So here’s everything you need to know about Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy on ITV1 and ITVX…
Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy release date
Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy will start in the UK on ITV1 on Sunday 14 April 2024 at 8pm and will also be available on ITVX.
How to watch Midsomer Murders in 2024 online or on TV
Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy plot
The new mystery Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy begins with a macabre death when paranoid doomsday prepper Warren Kaine gets an unknown call warning of nuclear war, only to be asphyxiated in his bombproof survival shelter when the oxygen supply is cut off. DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter are quickly on the case and are immediately suspicious of the other members of Midsomer’s secretive survivalist group. Were they desperate to get their hands on Warren’s shelter, or is someone trying to send a message? But with so many suspects, some more murders and several strange motives, Winter and Barnaby have their work cut out before they can unmask the killer.
Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy cast
As well as Neil Dudgeon as Barnaby and Nick Hendrix as Winter there's an all-star cast in Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy that includes Robert Cavanah (Shetland, Outlander) as victim Warren Kaine’s friend and fellow survivalist Guy Burrows, and Holly Aird (Waking the Dead) as Guy’s bookshop-owning wife Paige.
Meanwhile, Kate Robbins (Unforgotten, The Couple Next Door) plays Warren’s ex wife Lyra Kaine, and Nina Wadia (EastEnders) is Medora Salt, who runs the local pub The Huntsman’s Horn.
Exclusive interview: Neil Dudgeon talks us through Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy
What can you tell us about Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy?
Neil Dudgeon says: "It’s written by Jeff Povey, who's very imaginative and comes up with some marvellously eccentric, crazy things. It starts off seemingly with nuclear war and then builds from there. But the other fantastic thing about this episode is the bizarre deaths. We have someone beaten around the head with a tin of spam and a death by exploding lifeboat, which is just inspired! I mean, there are loads of other great cop shows and detective shows out there, but nobody gets killed by a tin of spam in Line of Duty, do they?"
Did you know much about doomsday preppers beforehand?
"No, and I'm constantly amazed by the bizarre organisations or communities on society’s fringes that the Midsomer stories are based around. I didn’t know doomsday preppers were a real thing, but it turns out these groups have bunkers in the woods with secret codes, their own water supply and something like two years worth of food!"
Tell us about the guest stars…
"They’re all amazing! Actually Holly [Aird] did an episode of Midsomer with me years ago. I think for a long time they didn’t want to have guests back who’d already done an episode with me. But now I’ve been doing it so long they’ve realised we’ve run out of actors!"
When you started as John Barnaby 14 years ago, did you imagine you’d stay for so long?
"No! It had already been going for 13 years when I joined and I think they thought they’d get another two or three years out of it. But people still love it so they keep asking us to do more!"
What do you still love about playing him?
"So many things. I live in West London, so getting to spend six months of the year in the countryside is lovely. Then there are the brilliant guest stars, and of course working with Nick Hendrix, Annette Badland and Fiona Dolman. We have a lot of fun together on set. I see much more of them than I do my own family because we’re with each other from seven in the morning until seven at night, five days a week. We’re sort of in each other’s pockets really!"
Why do you think the show has stood the test of time?
"It’s extremely eccentric – it’s sort of in a world of its own and I think people want escapism. They don't necessarily want to see lots of scary violence or worrying ways of dying. With Midsomer you can sit down and get carried off into this crazy, wacky, strange other world for a couple of hours!"
Do you have a favourite ever case?
"There's one from 2014 and called Wild Harvest where a man was found dead in the woods. He’d been tied to a tree and his shirt had been ripped off, he’d been covered in truffle oil and then eaten alive by a wild boar. It was just so preposterous! I also loved The Sting of Death (2019) where someone had been turned into a giant human candle encased in wax – then Barnaby turned up to investigate acting as if it was all perfectly normal!"
What about a standout fan experience?
"I met a guy in Baltimore at a TV festival once. He came up to me and said, I’ve got to shake your hand, you saved my marriage! He told me he and his wife had been drifting apart for years and they had nothing in common anymore. Then one night he started watching Midsomer with her. Now they watch it regularly and it’s sort of saved their relationship! That’s a great testament to the beauty and the fun and the joy of the show!"
Is Midsomer somewhere you’d like to live if it existed in real life?
"Oh yeah, I’d be there like a shot! It sort of already exists in my mind! I love the idea of all these prepper societies, stitchers' societies, beekeeping societies, flying clubs. But I’d want to enjoy the nice walks and the pub lunches, rather than spend my time finding bodies!"
Apart from Midsomer Murders, do you have a favourite crime drama?
"I tend not to watch dramas at all actually. I love the warmth, kindness and humour of The Repair Shop, and I was a great fan of Strictly, but then my kids started going out on a Saturday night and I didn’t have the heart to watch it without them. But my latest thing is Sort Your Life Out with Stacey Solomon. She’s absolutely wonderful, and I’m hoping she’ll inspire me to clear out our house and tidy up a bit!"
There ought to be a celebrity version…
"Oh yes, we all need Stacey in our lives! There’s stuff that’s been up in my loft for 20 years. What’s the point? I might as well have shot it into space!"
Interview: Nick Hendrix on Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy
Nick Hendrix, who plays, DS Jamie Winter, explains: "‘This story is about a group of people who think nuclear war is coming or the apocalypse. Some preppers think very much that this is going to happen and others just like being part of the club.
"Doomsday prepping is not something I was aware of. I mean, I knew there were people hoarding baked beans and building nuclear bunkers, but this takes it to the next level, and the art department did a fantastic job with the shelter in this episode.
‘Then we have Kate Robbins’ character, Lyra, who had this unbelievable bizarre tent in the middle of the woods, where she kept all sorts of strange old radios and stuff that she would try to fix. That is very Midsomer – in the woods, dark and kind of spooky…"
Is there a trailer for Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy?
Not yet, but watch this space for updates.
