For over a decade, Neil Dudgeon has navigated the deceptively deadly county of Midsomer as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby. But according to the actor himself, the real peril wasn't from the show's notorious murder rate—it was lurking behind the scenes on set.
In a revealing new interview, the star of the long-running ITV favourite has confessed that filming the beloved British drama often felt like a genuine health and safety minefield. The bucolic English countryside, it turns,, can be a surprisingly hazardous workplace.
The Unseen Dangers of a Peaceful Setting
Dudgeon detailed the myriad of risks that came with the job, far removed from the fictional carnage plotted by the show's writers. The greatest threats often came from the idyllic locations themselves. "We film in these beautiful, old country houses," he explained, "but you're constantly worrying about backing into a priceless vase or knocking over a historic artefact. The pressure is immense."
Beyond the fragile antiques, the very architecture posed a risk. Low-hanging beams in ancient cottages and uneven flagstone floors in rustic pubs became daily obstacles for the cast and crew, requiring a level of vigilance not always seen on screen.
When Props Bite Back
Even the essential tools of the detective trade presented their own dangers. Dudgeon singled out a seemingly innocuous prop: his character's trademark torch. "You'd be amazed how many times I nearly took my own eye out with that thing during night shoots," he quipped. "Waving it around dramatically while walking through a dark wood... it was only a matter of time before someone got a concussion."
The actor also hinted at the perils of handling various evidence bags and examining potentially hazardous props from the show's more inventive murder scenes, all under the pressure of a tight filming schedule.
His candid revelations peel back the curtain on the reality of producing a show that makes murder look quaint and countryside life seem serene. For Dudgeon and the team, it's a world of risk assessments, near-misses, and a constant awareness that the most dramatic moment could happen off-script, in the form of a very real and very unfortunate accident.
