Midsomer Murders’ most outrageous deaths – from wild boar attacks to bludgeoning with blocks of cheese

MIDSOMER Murders is the longest running detective drama in the UK, having first aired in 1997.

John Nettles played the show’s first detective, DCI Tom Barnaby until 2011, when Neil Dudgeon took over as DCI John Barnaby, his younger cousin.

During the show’s run, there have been many unusual and downright outrageous murders, and with new episodes about to air, there will hopefully be even more to come.

Speaking to The Celeb Report’s TV Mag, Neil, 60, said: “After 22 series, it’s really hard of coming up with new and lavish ways of killing people.

“I sometimes think if you start with the most extreme murder you can think of and then you have to fashion the plot around the murder.”

With this in mind, here are some of the most memorable murders that have taken place in Midsomer so far.

Series 16, Episode 3 – Wild Harvest

This episode saw a farmer covered in truffle oil on his own land and mauled to death by a wild boar.

This one stuck in Neil’s memory as he said: “That’s possibly my favourite murder through my time on the show.

“A man is found in the woods tied to a tree smothered in truffle oil eaten alive by a wild boar – the sheer psychotic lunacy of whoever came up with this idea.

“You think, what’s wrong with these people? It’s a good idea they do TV shows like Midsomer, because if they were just out there, they’d be a threat to society.

“That’s a really convoluted, thought through way of killing people. I love the complexity of it. Brilliant.”

Series 10, Episode 7 – They Seek Him Here

Midsomer saw a film crew come to town in this episode to make a version of The Scarlet Pimpernel.

However, things end in disaster after the film’s director Nick Cheyney is decapitated by a guillotine.

Series 12, Episode 5 – Small Mercies

A model maker in Little Worthy went to open his beloved model village in this episode, only to find a dead body.

The man – called Richard Tanner – had been stabbed and tied down like Gulliver in the stories of Lilliput.

Series 15, Episode 4 – Death & the Divas

Eve Lomax, a film journalist, was found dead while in Midsomer writing a book about 1960s horror actress Stella Harris.

She was found with two marks in her neck like a vampire bite and things took an even more supernatural turn when a second victim suffocated to death after being wrapped in bandages like an Egyptian mummy.

Series 15, Episode 6 – Schooled in Murder

Series 15 really pulled out all the stops on the bizarre murder front as it also featured an episode where a woman – played by Martine McCutcheon – was crushed to death by a giant round of cheese.

This one also stuck in Neil’s memory as he said: “She’s beaten to death with a wheel of cheese. Well she’s hit over the head and the cheese collapses on her. Dear Martine.”

Series 8, Episode 6 – Hidden Depths

If you’re looking for absurd deaths, this episode featured two of the best.

First, solicitor Otto Benham is pinioned by croquet hooks on his lawn like a human target as he is catapulted with bottles of vintage wine.

Then, celebrity quiz master Mike Spicer has his head pushed into a hollowed-out TV set, which is then slowly filled with wine as the murderer taunts him with game show questions.

Series 13, Episode Two – The Sword of Guillaume

This episode was Neil’s first appearance as John Barnaby and saw an unpopular property developer called Hugh Dalgleish beheaded on a ghost train ride.

Series 4, Episode 3 – The Electric Vendetta

This episode featured a storyline involving crop circles and potential alien abductions.

However, the murder that took place actually involved a man being electrocuted in a wired pick-up truck.

Midsomer Murders returns on Sunday, March 21 at 8pm on ITV. TV Mag is available in The Celeb Report every Saturday.