Case file · Series 16, Episode 2 · Season 16, Episode 2
Let Us Prey
Deaths begin to resemble the punishments in a medieval church fresco while storms close in on Midsomer St Claire.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A rain-soaked mystery that turns a restored church painting into a vivid catalogue of threats.
- Best for
- Medieval fresco · Church crypt · Flooding
- Mood
- Dark
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Charlie Nelson
- 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 rain-soaked mystery that turns a restored church painting into a vivid catalogue of threats.
Art historian Philip Hamilton is restoring a medieval fresco uncovered in the crypt of Midsomer St Claire's church when his partner, Nancy Dewar, is found dead in the river. Further attacks appear to reproduce the fresco's macabre punishments, encouraging the village to read the case as a work of religious vengeance.
Barnaby and Nelson investigate the church restoration, the Dewar family and the people whose reputations depend on controlling the past. With floodwater rising around the village, they must decide which details are genuine ritual and which have been staged to disguise a much more personal secret.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The fresco provides a theatrical pattern rather than the true motive. Once Barnaby reconstructs the hidden relationship behind the Dewar household, the staged punishments point back to a secret the killer believed could not survive exposure.
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 Midsomer St Claire 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 John Barnaby and DS Charlie Nelson 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 16
- Episode number
- Episode 2
- Written by
- Paul Logue
- Directed by
- Alex Pillai
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 8 January 2014
- Reported filming period
- April–May 2013
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Charlie Nelson
- Pathologist
- Dr Kate Wilding · Tamzin Malleson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer St Claire
- 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 2 broader filming areas and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits6 episodes credited to Paul Logue
- Director credits7 episodes directed by Alex Pillai
- Release positionCase 97 of 144
- Story characterDark · Medieval fresco · Church crypt
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
The medieval wall painting is not decoration: its imagery supplies the pattern that the detectives must test against each crime.
St Mary the Virgin Church in Hurley represents the parish church of fictional Midsomer St Claire.
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
Let Us Prey cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Fiona Dolman
Vincent Regan
Rebecca Front
Andrea Lowe
Ben Bailey Smith
Billy Postlethwaite
William Beck
Paul Copley
Gerard Horan
Patricia Brake
Roy Hudd
Sarah Lochlan
Michael Jayston
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
Gwilym Lee
Charlie Nelson · Detective SergeantA British actor whose screen career includes Jamestown, The Great and Top End Wedding. International audiences may know him best as Queen guitarist Brian May in the film Bohemian Rhapsody.
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- The Great
- Jamestown
Tamzin Malleson
Dr Kate Wilding · Police pathologistAn English actor whose best-known television work includes Dangerfield, Teachers, the medical drama Bodies and Unforgotten. She has also appeared in Poirot, Marcella and A Touch of Frost.
- Teachers
- Bodies
- Unforgotten
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 Kate Wilding
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Tamzin Malleson
Bullard's assured, no-nonsense successor combines forensic authority with a more informal chemistry around the John Barnaby team.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Nancy Dewar
Murder · Drowning
Performer check- Nancy Dewar: Sarah Lochlan
- Frank Dewar
Murder · Crushing
Performer check- Frank Dewar: Paul CopleyThe earlier synopsis-derived ledger used only a builder’s-yard descriptor; the published cast record and detailed episode synopsis identify the victim as Frank Dewar.
- Philip Hamilton
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Philip Hamilton: Vincent ReganThe published cast record includes Philip Hamilton’s academic title; the concise death ledger retains the name without the title.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Rev. Arthur GouldArthur killed Nancy Dewar after she discovered that Ava was not his biological daughter, then killed Frank Dewar and Professor Philip Hamilton when each found evidence that threatened the same secret. His earlier abduction of the newborn Ava and Ava's non-fatal struggle with Rev. Martha Hillcott remain separate offences.
Verified motive
Arthur had abducted newborn Ava from vulnerable mother Tina Bell and built his purpose and identity around raising her as his daughter. He killed Nancy, Frank and Hamilton to keep that parentage secret and, in his own mind, protect Ava from a truth that would end their relationship.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 97 · checked 25 September 2026Nancy's test results and letter about Arthur GouldNancy sees the result that exposes Arthur's concealed parentage story and writes to the homeless centre about him. Frank finds her results in her car and Hamilton is poised to move into the family cottage; the evidence explains Arthur's three silencing murders while keeping his earlier abduction of Ava separate.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 97 · checked 16 September 2026- discoveryArthur takes newborn Ava
Arthur abducts Tina Bell's baby and raises Ava as his own daughter, building the secret that drives the later murders.
- deathNancy Dewar is killed
Arthur kills Nancy after she discovers that Ava is not his biological daughter.
- deathFrank Dewar is killed
Frank's evidence about the property and Ava's history makes him the next threat to Arthur's secret.
- deathProfessor Hamilton is killed
Arthur kills Hamilton when the proposed cottage purchase and recovered evidence bring the concealed parentage closer to exposure.
- discoveryThe property trail exposes the parentage
The deal shared by the victims leads back to Tina, Ava and the identity Arthur has protected for years.
- discoverySeparate violence is distinguished
Arthur's three murders and earlier abduction are separated from Ava's non-fatal struggle with Rev. Martha Hillcott.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
St Mary the Virgin Church
Used as: The same real church returns as the parish church of fictional Midsomer St Claire.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Village house
Used as: A private house supplies the recurring exterior of Dr Kate Wilding's home.
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
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 →Hurley
The church, historic hotel and High Street buildings have served as pubs, homes and community locations.
Open location →