Lewis star Kevin Whately on his triumphant return to crime drama as a suspect in Midsomer Murders
KEVIN WHATELY on treading the boards in Midsomer as he guests in the crime drama
MIDSOMER MURDERS SUNDAY, 8PM, ITV1 DRAMA
Kevin Whately spent years among the dreaming spires of Oxford as dogged cop Robbie Lewis in Inspector Morse and Lewis, so he certainly knows a thing or two about playing a detective in a crime series. But now he’s returning to our screens as a suspect rather than a sleuth in this week’s new episode of ITV1’S Midsomer Murders. Entitled For Death Prepare, it features an am-dram production, a very inventive killing and even DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) showing off his vocal talents!
The story involves a charity production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance by local operatic society the Midsomer Mummers. When a body is found buried under a hoard of old coins in a prop treasure chest, Winter and DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) must work out the identity of both the victim and the killer. But it’s not long before more gruesome murders take place…
Here, Kevin, 71, tells us what to expect from his crime-drama comeback…
Have you always been a fan of
Midsomer Murders?
Let’s just say that after reading 60-odd Inspector Morse and Lewis scripts, you pick up the subtleties of how the scriptwriters work. But Midsomer is my favourite – I must have seen 80 episodes!
How did you find working with Neil Dudgeon? Did you swap stories about playing detectives?
It was great having a chat with him to compare notes. It can be quite a lonely job leading a detective series like Midsomer because everyone – the cast and crew, directors – depends on you so heavily that you almost become a father figure to the whole unit. It’s hard work!
What appealed to you about this particular episode?
It seemed like great fun with us all having a little sing! I’m also a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan – I played Captain Corcoran in
HMS Pinafore years ago. I think they were looked down on in the past, but some of the music is sublime and, of course, the lyrics are hilarious! It is the more accessible face of opera.
Music interests me much more than acting these days. I’ve done a lot of musical theatre. I did Gypsy with Imelda Staunton a couple of years ago and I fronted a BBC Big Band on tour. Working with orchestras at places like the Royal Albert Hall really thrills me.
And your daughter, Kitty, is also a talented singer…
Yes, she’s a professional opera singer. I do shows with her where my wife [fellow actor Madelaine Newton] and I punctuate her concerts with readings. She astonishes us – she is much more technically adept than we ever were as actors. We were folk singers when we were younger, but opera singing is very disciplined – it’s like being a full-time athlete!
Tell us about your character Jeremy Whittingdale…
Jeremy’s a pillar of the community, a retired head teacher whom everyone respects.
He’s a stalwart of the
Midsomer Mummers.
But he’s quite bitter about his split from his wife. He was a controlling husband and father and, although his wife left for Australia years ago, he still wants control over his daughter, Phoebe [Tessa Wong].
She’s the apple of his eye, his pride and joy and a very bright girl. But he feels she’s fallen off the academic wagon, so he’s trying to get her back into full-time education. She’s trying to form a relationship with him but he isn’t happy with what she is doing with her life, which happens to be backpacking!
He also has a link to Barnaby’s wife Sarah (Fiona Dolman), doesn’t he?
Yes, Sarah used to work on his staff, and he heard her singing at assembly and thought she’d be perfect for the Mummers. He’s been trying to persuade her to join ever since and this is her first outing with them.
All the theatre scenes look really fun. Where did you film them?
We were mostly at The Mill at Sonning in Berkshire, which is a sweet old theatre. I’ve never actually seen a show there, but we filmed a Morse episode just over the river from it in the 1980s. To sniff the backstage air and be on stage was absolutely fabulous!
Finally, did filming this episode bring back memories of your own am-dram experience before you became a professional actor?
I was in a big amateur theatre group in Newcastle, People’s Theatre, for years and I don’t remember any in-fighting at all – but it is a well-known cliché that everyone in am-dram hates each other. I just love the idea of them all knifing each other over who gets a solo or has the best sword!