Colourful characters who have quietly taken over the world

NEIL DUDGEON is getting down with the kids. In Scandinavia.who would have thought Inspector Barnaby would be a hero to young Scandi noir fans? But our famous Midsomer Murders plod was besieged there recently.

“The thing that strikes you when you go all over Europe is that fans appear everywhere,” he tells me. “I was on holiday in Finland and I was mobbed by fans in a museum shop.

“One of them came over rather tentatively and said, ‘Can I get a picture?’ I obliged.then another couple of them whispered something, too, and I said, ‘Yes, of course’. Eventually there were about 20 to 25 kids, all aged about 15 or 16, getting autographs, and a few other confused shoppers wondering, ‘Who is he?’”

None of us should be surprised. Midsomer is one of the biggest dramas in the world and has amassed millions of fans over its 21-year history.

First there was John Nettles as Tom Barnaby while the current incumbent, Neil Dudgeon,tom’s cousin John, has been on the beat for seven years, including the new series that has just started.

But Nettles failed to provide much of a steer to his successor, Dudgeon reveals. “I met John at a do several years ago when I had already been doing it for a few years.we sat together and swapped stories, ‘How do you find this?’ and other such questions. It was very interesting to meet someone who knows what you’re going through!

“He’s far too humble and modest to offer advice, or anything like that. I don’t know whether he’s ever really watched me. He may have given up watching the show!”

ANOTHER retirement from the series was of course the star pooch, Sykes, who consistently upstaged any performer who came into his space. He’s been replaced by Paddy, who is not yet as famous as his predecessor but has his own little tricks, says Dudgeon.

“Paddy has this brilliant talent for being able to jump like a Harrier jump jet.you just have to shout, ‘Jump’ and up he goes. It’s wonderful.

“But Sykes, bless him, did the best audition I’d ever seen at Pinewood, either animal or actor. He jumped, rolled over, went to the sofa, laid down, did sit up and beg, played dead, cover your eyes. He did all these things ‘boom, boom boom’, and it was absolutely superb. He nailed everything and then left