Case file · Series 9, Episode 7 · Season 9, Episode 7
Last Year's Model
As Annie Woodrow stands trial for murdering her friend, Barnaby begins to distrust the evidence on which he built the prosecution.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The investigation begins after the arrest, forcing Barnaby to question his own work while the court expects certainty.
- Best for
- Murder trial · Case reconstruction · Reasonable doubt
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DC Ben Jones
- 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
The investigation begins after the arrest, forcing Barnaby to question his own work while the court expects certainty.
Annie Woodrow is tried for the murder of Frances Trevelyan, with the prosecution arguing that Annie loved Frances's husband John. Barnaby was the arresting officer, yet the presentation of the case and a remark by Frances's youngest daughter make its apparently complete logic feel increasingly unstable.
A clinical psychologist helps Barnaby reconsider witness behaviour and the reconstruction of the crime. He investigates around the running trial, knowing that correcting the case requires more than finding a new suspect: he must explain why the original evidence looked so persuasive.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Annie has been framed by evidence designed to fit the prosecution's emotional theory. Barnaby reinterprets the reconstruction and family testimony to identify the person who controlled both the crime and its apparent motive.
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 Causton and Midsomer Malham 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 DC Ben Jones 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 9
- Episode number
- Episode 7
- Written by
- David Hoskins
- Directed by
- Richard Holthouse
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 3 July 2006 17 September 2006
- Reported filming period
- February–March 2006
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DC Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Causton
- 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 1 broader filming area and 3 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits9 episodes credited to David Hoskins
- Director credits16 episodes directed by Richard Holthouse
- Release positionCase 50 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Murder trial · Case reconstruction
- Location evidence3 exact screen-use matches
Henley Town Hall supplies the exterior, while the historic courtroom at Kingston County Hall provides the interior.
The episode is structured around the detective revisiting his own arrest rather than receiving a new murder at the outset.
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
Last Year's Model 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
Alex Belcourt
Josette Simon
Guy Henry
Siobhan Redmond
Jamie Glover
Helen Dallimore
Giles Havergal
Thelma Barlow
Miles Anderson
Stephanie Jacob
Rosa Hoskins
Saskia Wickham
Emily Gloyens
David Birrell
Caroline Trowbridge
Brian Protheroe
Charles Millham
Jon Rake
Barbara Young
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
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 person dies in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Frances Trevelyan
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- Frances Trevelyan: not listed in the current published cast recordNo Frances Trevelyan performer appears in the current published cast record.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Jamie CramnerJamie killed Frances Trevelyan when she threatened to expose his corrupt property deal, then let suspicion fall on Annie Woodrow. The prosecution dropped its case against Annie after Jamie confessed, so her changing account is not treated as evidence that she was the killer.
Verified motive
Jamie killed Frances to stop her exposing his corrupt house-sale arrangement after she demanded that he cancel it and use a neutral estate agent; Annie then served as a convenient suspect.
Verified important clue
Archive case 50 · checked 16 September 2026The independent valuation of the Trevelyan houseThe valuation shows that Jamie obtained the house through a friendly, understated assessment and was preparing to resell it for substantially more, exposing the corrupt arrangement Frances had ordered him to cancel through a neutral agent.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 50 · checked 17 September 2026The independent valuation of the Trevelyan houseThe valuation shows that Jamie obtained the house through a friendly understatement and planned to resell it for substantially more. It exposes the corrupt arrangement Frances ordered him to cancel, supplies the motive the original prosecution missed and leads to Jamie's confession and Annie's exoneration.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 50 · checked 16 September 2026- deathFrances Trevelyan is killed
Jamie kills Frances after she threatens to expose his corrupt property arrangement and demand a neutral sale.
- discoveryAnnie Woodrow is charged
Evidence is arranged around Annie's feelings for John Trevelyan, producing an apparently coherent but wrongful prosecution.
- discoveryThe trial unsettles the original reconstruction
A detail in the family testimony prompts Barnaby to re-examine the behaviour and timing on which Annie's case was built.
- discoveryThe property arrangement is uncovered
Frances's threatened ultimatum and Jamie's covert deal supply a motive that the original emotional theory missed.
- discoveryThe police operation catches Jamie
A controlled confrontation exposes his attempt to protect the arrangement and gives the inquiry its alternative offender.
- discoveryJamie confesses and Annie is cleared
The confession causes the prosecution to drop Annie's case, replacing the framed account with Jamie's responsibility.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
County Hall courtroom
Used as: The historic courtroom provides the interior of Causton Crown Court.
Henley Town Hall
Used as: The town hall exterior appears as Causton Crown Court.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Fairmile Cemetery
Used as: The cemetery supplies the graveyard scenes.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas