Case file · Series 20, Episode 6
Send in the Clowns
A touring circus loses a performer in the ring before a sabotaged sword act turns another volunteer into a victim.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The big top supplies the spectacle, but the real pressure comes from a family arguing over whether the circus has a future at all.
- Best for
- Touring circus · Family business · Revenge
- 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 big top supplies the spectacle, but the real pressure comes from a family arguing over whether the circus has a future at all.
A touring circus loses a performer in the ring before a sabotaged sword act turns another volunteer into a victim.
Performer Terry Bellini intends to leave Ferabbee's Circus with his wife and daughter after receiving another offer, but he is shot during his act. A volunteer is then killed when the swords in a stage illusion are deliberately altered.
The Ferabbee brothers disagree about whether the circus should survive, and a third death at an abattoir pulls a local business into the same history. Barnaby and Winter investigate the performers' loyalties and an earlier death that somebody believes the family never answered for.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The murders form a revenge sequence connected to an earlier death, while disagreements over the circus's future help conceal who can move freely behind the acts.
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 6
- Written by
- Julia Gilbert
- Directed by
- Nick Laughland
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 13 July 2018 14 January 2020
- Reported filming period
- August–September 2017
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Swynton Magna
- 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 1 broader filming area and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger7 episodes credited to Julia Gilbert
- Director ledger9 episodes directed by Nick Laughland
- Release positionCase 122 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Touring circus · Family business
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
Jay Miller's Circus appears as the fictional Ferabbee's Circus rather than the production building a permanent village location.
The Angel in Long Crendon is used as Ashley Denton's restaurant in fictional Swynton Magna.
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.
Jason Watkins
Published cast record ↗Kevin Eldon
Published cast record ↗Andrew Gower
Published cast record ↗Lorraine Ashbourne
Published cast record ↗Neil Stuke
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
3 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Terry Bellini
Murder · Gunshot
- Ashley Denton
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
- Curtis Ferabbee
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Jay Miller's Circus
Used as: The working circus appears under the fictional Ferabbee's Circus identity.
The Angel
Used as: The restaurant appears as Ashley Denton's restaurant in fictional Swynton Magna.
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