Case file · Series 8, Episode 2 · Season 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. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.
Why it matters
A bright Thames regatta provides the polished surface for one of the series' neatest crime-and-blackmail combinations.
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.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Use these spoiler-safe prompts to notice the setting, the investigation and the details that may matter.
- Place
How does Morton Fendle shape what people say openly, delay, or leave unsaid?
- Theme
Which details seem to carry more than one meaning, and what might be a red herring?
- Teamwork
Compare how DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Dan Scott gather information: who watches the room, and who presses the conversation forward?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- 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 credits7 episodes credited to Douglas Watkinson
- Director credits23 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
Dead in the Water cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Jane Wymark
Laura Howard
Owain Yeoman
Joe Armstrong
Adrian Lukis
Diana Quick
Emma Amos
Mark Frost
Sean Baker
Janet Brown
Benedick Blythe
Christopher Mellows
Jack Klaff
Clemency Burton-Hill
Steve Redgrave
Sandra Duncan
William Scott-Masson
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
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
1 person dies in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Guy Sweetman
Murder · Drowning
Performer check- Guy Sweetman: Benedick Blythe
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Clare BonavitaClare killed Guy Sweetman after he rejected both her and the planned robbery. The episode's burglaries and the rowing club's other deceptions remain part of the surrounding conspiracy rather than additional murders.
Verified motive
Clare killed Guy after he rejected their relationship and withdrew from the planned robbery, threatening both the future she imagined with him and the criminal scheme.
Verified important clue
Archive case 37 · checked 16 September 2026The river-drift calculationThe estimated time in the water, rate of flow and body weight place Guy's attack about 2,500 metres upstream from the regatta discovery, separating the real crime scene from the public recovery and directing the inquiry back towards his home.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 37 · checked 17 September 2026The river-drift calculation back to Guy's homeUsing the current, elapsed time and Guy's weight places the attack roughly 2,500 metres upstream from the regatta discovery. The reconstruction returns the inquiry to Guy's private meetings and, with the abandoned robbery plan, exposes Clare as the sole killer while keeping the surrounding burglaries separate.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 37 · checked 16 September 2026- deathGuy Sweetman is killed
Clare kills Guy after he rejects both their relationship and the planned robbery.
- discoveryGuy is found during the regatta
His body is recovered from the water, turning the public rowing event into a murder inquiry.
- discoveryThe robbery scheme is reconstructed
Barnaby separates the club's burglaries and false alibis from Clare's personal reason for killing Guy.
- discoveryClare's responsibility is established
The waterborne timetable and the participants' private meetings identify Clare as the sole killer.
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.
Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
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 →