Case file · Series 24, Episode 3
Claws Out
A village dog search discovers a pet detective dead inside an animal cage while another, much larger dog remains missing.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Pet ownership, training culture and inheritance law combine in a case where almost every clue has teeth.
- Best for
- Missing pets · Dog training · Inheritance
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Jamie Winter
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
Pet ownership, training culture and inheritance law combine in a case where almost every clue has teeth.
A village dog search discovers a pet detective dead inside an animal cage while another, much larger dog remains missing.
Volunteers searching around Binwell for a missing dog instead find pet detective Frank Bailey dead in a cage associated with Storm, a missing Czechoslovakian wolfdog. The discovery turns an apparently communal search into an examination of rivalries among owners, trainers and Frank's family.
A disputed inheritance and a second death change the financial consequences of the case. Barnaby and Winter have to separate hostility towards the victim from the movement of the missing animal—and decide which apparently helpful searchers are controlling the evidence.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The pattern of inheritance, the staged use of dog-training equipment and the truth about Storm's disappearance expose a plan built to redirect suspicion through the animals.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 24
- Episode number
- Episode 3
- Written by
- Helen Jenkins
- Directed by
- Paul Gibson
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 18 December 2023
- Reported filming period
- May–June 2023
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Binwell
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 0 broader filming areas and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger6 episodes credited to Helen Jenkins
- Director ledger3 episodes directed by Paul Gibson
- Release positionCase 139 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Missing pets · Dog training
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
The Horn pub was used as Binwell's Indian restaurant, while the village hall and a local cottage supplied further exteriors.
Storm is identified in the story as a Czechoslovakian wolfdog rather than an ordinary domestic crossbreed.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
Selected episode credits
Guest cast on file
Selected profiles and published cast-list entries. Database records are linked individually; this is not a full transcription or an independent check against the end credits.
Catherine Tyldesley
Published cast record ↗Josette Simon
Published cast record ↗Josie Lawrence
Published cast record ↗Duncan Preston
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
Neil Dudgeon
John Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor whose television work before Causton included Piece of Cake, The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, Messiah and the sitcom Life of Riley. He also appeared in Midsomer Murders years earlier as a different character in Garden of Death.
- Messiah
- Life of Riley
- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Nick Hendrix
Jamie Winter · Detective SergeantAn English actor trained at the University of Exeter and RADA. His theatre work includes the National Theatre, Old Vic and West End, while his screen credits include Black Mirror, Marcella, The Crown, Legend and Suffragette.
- Black Mirror
- Marcella
- The Crown
Annette Badland
Dr Fleur Perkins · Police pathologistAn award-winning English actor with an extensive career in theatre, television, film and radio. Her many recognisable roles include Doctor Who, EastEnders, Outlander, Bergerac and pub landlady Mae in Ted Lasso.
- Ted Lasso
- Doctor Who
- EastEnders
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr Fleur Perkins
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Annette Badland
Fleur pairs forensic certainty with dry humour and a magnificently low tolerance for Midsomer nonsense.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Frank Bailey
Murder · Other recorded death
- Tai Yang
Murder · Electrocution
- Lorna McIntosh
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
The Horn
Used as: The pub exterior is redressed as the Indian restaurant in fictional Binwell.
Crazies Hill Village Hall
Used as: The village hall supplies one of Binwell's community exteriors.
Building identities are cross-checked against the Casebook's published filming-location references. A named match describes the part used on screen, not the whole village and not necessarily an interior.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
No real-place link is published here until it can be tied to a specific, sourced screen use.