Case file · Series 9, Episode 4
Down Among the Dead Men
A council clerk is shot through his kitchen window, and his blackmail archive sends Barnaby and Joyce to the coast.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A rare Devon excursion broadens a village blackmail case into a story of shipwreck treasure and carefully concealed identity.
- Best for
- Blackmail · Seaside trail · Hidden identity
- Mood
- Dark
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DC Ben Jones
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
A rare Devon excursion broadens a village blackmail case into a story of shipwreck treasure and carefully concealed identity.
A council clerk is shot through his kitchen window, and his blackmail archive sends Barnaby and Joyce to the coast.
Council employee Martin Barrett is shot while entertaining a mystery visitor. Barnaby and Jones discover a store of compromising photographs and conclude that Barrett had turned his access to local lives into an organised blackmail business.
The trail takes Barnaby and Joyce to Fennacombe Bay, where marine history, a fishing family and the wreck of the Harlequin complicate the list of blackmail victims. The killer remains visible throughout but is protected by the assumptions attached to an apparently ordinary role.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Barrett's archive reveals many motives but also hides the visitor's identity in plain sight. Barnaby's coastal inquiry exposes the relationship between the blackmail, a family secret and the old wreck story.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 9
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Douglas Watkinson
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 12 March 2006
- Reported filming period
- August–September 2005
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DC Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Worthy and Fennacombe Bay
- Casebook tone
- Dark
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 1 broader filming area 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 47 of 144
- Story characterDark · Blackmail · Seaside trail
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Beer and Branscombe in Devon provide the fishmonger's, jetty and coastal picnic settings.
A bridge at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is used when Barnaby and Jones inspect the tracks below.
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.
Paul Freeman
Published cast record ↗Dermot Crowley
Published cast record ↗Julia McKenzie
Published cast record ↗Sam Kelly
Published cast record ↗Grant Masters
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
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · InspectorA Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.
- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
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 source row represent 1 person in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Martin Barrett
Murder · Gunshot
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Fishing hut and boat jetty
Used as: The hut becomes the Hatchards' Fennacombe Bay fishmonger's and the jetty starts the boat pursuit.
Branscombe beach
Used as: The bay hosts Tom and Joyce Barnaby's seaside picnic.
The Plough
Used as: The pub appears as the local in Midsomer Worthy.
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre bridge
Used as: The bridge is used when Barnaby and Jones inspect the tracks below.
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
