Neil Dudgeon, who plays DCI John Barnaby in , has spoken about his future on the show in a thrilling series update. Neil joined the cast in 2011, taking over from John Nettles, the original lead detective, Tom Barnaby.
In a recent interview, Neil revealed that he plans to continue as the detective until the producers decide otherwise. When questioned about any imminent departure from the ITV series, he told Radio Times: “No, I assume that at some point I’ll get the hook. You know, the hook will all come and sort of drag me off into the wings, and they won’t want me anymore.
“But they haven’t done it yet, so I’m going to keep going to work until I get the hook.”
The actor, who portrays John Barnaby, also shared an exciting tidbit about series 25. Although he’s unsure of the broadcast schedule, Neil confirmed that filming is set to commence next month, reports .
‘I don’t know when it’s next being broadcast, but we start filming again at the end of March for season 25, so it goes on,” he declared.
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Neil Dudgeon as Barnaby (Image: ITV)
“We’ve had a year off this year. We didn’t film this year, but last year. But we are filming again this year. We’re filming four new stories from March this year.”
Last November, Neil appeared on ITV’s This Morning to discuss the enduring drama.
Alison Hammond even probed the actor about whether the previous series marked the end. She asked: “I think the question on everybody’s lips is, is this the end of DCI Barnaby?”
“Why?” Neil inquired, to which Alison responded: “There have been rumours that this could be the end.”
Neil Dudgeon has played DCI John Barnaby since 2011 (Image: ITV)
With a hint of amusement, Neil shot back, “Somebody knows something I don’t,” and then quipped, “Somebody is trying to get rid of me.”
He continued: “As far as I know, I am still here. We are shooting again next year, and the last I heard, I am in it, but I haven’t read the script yet, so I don’t know.”
While Neil isn’t set to depart from the series just yet, bookmakers are already speculating on his potential successor.
Leading the odds as the favourite to take over from Neil is Vera’s Kenny Doughty.
Other contenders include Martin Clunes with odds of 20/1, sharing the same likelihood as Only Fools and Horses’ Nicholas Lyndhurst and Jamie Parker.
Ralf Little of Death in Paradise and Daniel Case are also in the running, with odds of 5/1 and 6/1 respectively. Meanwhile, former detective John Nettles has been given long odds of 80/1 to make a comeback and fill Neil’s role.
Midsomer Murders is available to watch on the ITV Hub.