Case file · Series 20, Episode 3
Drawing Dead
A comic convention appears to predict a sequence of killings connected to the night a local woman was badly injured.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The episode turns panels, costumes and comic-book violence into a trail whose most important event happened before the convention opened.
- Best for
- Comic convention · Illustrated prophecy · Old accident
- 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
The episode turns panels, costumes and comic-book violence into a trail whose most important event happened before the convention opened.
A comic convention appears to predict a sequence of killings connected to the night a local woman was badly injured.
Francesca Lounds has spent two years in a coma following a riding accident. Shortly after she wakes, somebody ends her life and leaves a rolled comic as part of the staging; her son Barrett is then killed using equipment that belongs in a print room.
Carver Valley is hosting a comic festival, and published images seem to anticipate the crimes. Barnaby and Winter examine the artists, collectors and family members behind the event while reconstructing what really occurred on the night Francesca was injured.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The apparently prophetic drawings are a route back to Francesca's accident, the people present that night and a sequence designed to silence what she might reveal.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 20
- Episode number
- Episode 3
- Written by
- Jeff Povey
- Directed by
- Toby Frow
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 8 June 2018 19 May 2019
- Reported filming period
- May–June 2017
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Carver Valley
- 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 ledger8 episodes credited to Jeff Povey
- Director ledger3 episodes directed by Toby Frow
- Release positionCase 119 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Comic convention · Illustrated prophecy
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
The village green at The Lee becomes the centre of Carver Valley's comic convention.
Dorney Court supplies the exterior of Lord Argo's house.
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.
Nicholas Farrell
Published cast record ↗Jemma Redgrave
Published cast record ↗Nicholas Burns
Published cast record ↗Ruby Bentall
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
2 source rows represent 2 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Francesca Lounds
Murder · Suffocation
- Barrett Lounds
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Dorney Court
Used as: The Tudor house appears as Lord Argo's residence.
The Lee village green
Used as: The green becomes the Carver Valley comic-con site.
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.