Case file · Series 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. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
A rain-soaked mystery that turns a restored church painting into a vivid catalogue of threats.
Deaths begin to resemble the punishments in a medieval church fresco while storms close in on Midsomer St Claire.
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.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- 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 ledger6 episodes credited to Paul Logue
- Director ledger7 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
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.
Vincent Regan
Published cast record ↗Andrea Lowe
Published cast record ↗Rebecca Front
Published cast record ↗Roy Hudd
Published cast record ↗Michael Jayston
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
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 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Nancy Dewar
Murder · Drowning
- Frank (builder's-yard victim)
Murder · Crushing
- Philip Hamilton
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
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.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
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 →