Case file · Series 5, Episode 4
Murder on St Malley's Day
A prestigious school, a secret society and an annual sporting tradition produce a case steeped in privilege.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A pointed mystery about institutions that protect themselves.
- Best for
- School · Secret society · Tradition
- Mood
- Dark
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Gavin Troy
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
A pointed mystery about institutions that protect themselves.
A prestigious school, a secret society and an annual sporting tradition produce a case steeped in privilege.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The school's rituals hide a chain of blackmail and revenge reaching beyond the first apparent motive.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 5
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Andrew Payne
- Directed by
- Peter Smith
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 22 September 2002
- Reported filming period
- July–August 2001
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- No on-screen pathologist identified
- Principal setting
- Devington
- 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 1 exact on-screen site identity.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger11 episodes credited to Andrew Payne
- Director ledger22 episodes directed by Peter Smith
- Release positionCase 23 of 144
- Story characterDark · School · Secret society
- Location evidence1 exact screen-use match
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.
Anna Maxwell Martin
Published cast record ↗Jeremy Child
Published cast record ↗Nicholas Audsley
Published cast record ↗Patrick Godfrey
Published cast record ↗Sam Crane
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
Daniel Casey
Gavin Troy · Detective Sergeant · later InspectorAn English stage and television actor also known for Our Friends in the North, Steel River Blues, EastEnders and Emmerdale. He later returned to the Midsomer world to play Tom Barnaby in the first professional stage adaptation.
- Our Friends in the North
- Steel River Blues
- Midsomer Murders on stage
No on-screen pathologist identified
No on-screen pathologist identifiedNo police pathologist is identified on screen in the published credit check for this case.
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
No on-screen pathologist identified
- Credit
- No on-screen pathologist identified
- Played by
- No credited performer recorded
No police pathologist is identified on screen in the published credit check for this case.
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
- Susan Bartlett (farmers wife)
Murder · Drowning
- James Harrington
Murder · Drowning
- Victoria Bartlett
Murder · Gunshot
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
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