Case file · Series 8, Episode 2
Dead in the Water
The chairman of a rowing club is found dead during the regatta, opening a case of secret meetings, blackmail and a carefully planned robbery.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A bright Thames regatta provides the polished surface for one of the series' neatest crime-and-blackmail combinations.
- Best for
- Regatta · Rowing club · Blackmail
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Dan Scott
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
A bright Thames regatta provides the polished surface for one of the series' neatest crime-and-blackmail combinations.
The chairman of a rowing club is found dead during the regatta, opening a case of secret meetings, blackmail and a carefully planned robbery.
Morton Fendle's regatta is interrupted when rowing-club chairman Guy Sweetman is found dead in the water. His affairs and a pattern of private meetings give Barnaby and Scott an immediate field of suspects extending well beyond the boathouse.
The detectives discover that jealousy and blackmail overlap with preparations for a substantial robbery. Boats, river access and the public timetable of the regatta allow movements to be hidden in full view.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Guy's private leverage is connected to the robbery plan, but the person who kills him is protecting a more personal stake. Barnaby reconstructs the waterborne timetable to undo the alibis.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 8
- Episode number
- Episode 2
- Written by
- Douglas Watkinson
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 17 October 2004
- Reported filming period
- June–July 2004
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Dan Scott
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Morton Fendle
- Casebook tone
- Classic
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 4 broader filming areas and 4 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger7 episodes credited to Douglas Watkinson
- Director ledger23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 37 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Regatta · Rowing club
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Maidenhead Rowing Club represents fictional Morton Fendle Rowing Club.
Henley Bridge appears as Morton Fendle's road bridge during the river sequences.
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.
Owain Yeoman
Published cast record ↗Adrian Lukis
Published cast record ↗Joe Armstrong
Published cast record ↗Diana Quick
Published cast record ↗Emma Amos
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
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John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
John Hopkins
Dan Scott · Detective SergeantAn English actor with extensive stage, screen and voice work. His credits include the Royal Shakespeare Company, Poldark and Alice in Wonderland, as well as prominent game performances in Horizon, Hitman and Assassin's Creed.
- Royal Shakespeare Company
- Poldark
- Horizon game series
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
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 George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
4 source rows represent 4 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Aunt Lydia
Murder · Fall
- Jennifer Carter
Murder · Burning or heat
- Ferdy Villiers
Suicide · Gunshot · historical or before the main case
- Claire English
Suicide · Burning or heat · historical or before the main case
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Maidenhead Rowing Club
Used as: The club represents fictional Morton Fendle Rowing Club.
Henley Bridge
Used as: The bridge appears as Morton Fendle's road bridge during the regatta.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Riverside Cottage
Used as: The house is used for Guy Sweetman and Sandra Tate's riverside home.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Frieth Church of England Combined School
Used as: The school becomes Morton Fendle Village School.
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
Beaconsfield
Old-town architecture, churches and nearby estates have supplied homes, police buildings and village streets throughout the run.
Open location →Dorchester-on-Thames
The abbey, museum, hotels and village streets provide a recurring mixture of grandeur and intimacy.
Open location →Henley-on-Thames
Its river, bridge, town hall and nearby Remenham and Harpsden locations lend themselves to clubs, courts and prosperous settings.
Open location →
Thame
A versatile Causton and village backdrop whose town hall, museum, shops and surrounding estates take many identities.
Open location →