Case file · Series 2, Episode 2
Strangler's Wood
The death of a visiting model resembles a notorious unsolved case, but the local tobacco business supplies fresher motives.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A sombre early mystery that places an old serial-killer fear beside corporate and family pressure.
- Best for
- Cold case · Tobacco · Copycat clues
- 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 sombre early mystery that places an old serial-killer fear beside corporate and family pressure.
The death of a visiting model resembles a notorious unsolved case, but the local tobacco business supplies fresher motives.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The resemblance to the historic murders is useful misdirection; Barnaby ultimately follows relationships around the victim and the factory.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 2
- Episode number
- Episode 2
- Written by
- Anthony Horowitz
- Directed by
- Jeremy Silberston
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 3 February 1999
- Reported filming period
- May–June 1998
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- Dr Dan Peterson · Toby Jones
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Worthy
- 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 1 exact on-screen site identity.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger6 episodes credited to Anthony Horowitz
- Director ledger9 episodes directed by Jeremy Silberston
- Release positionCase 7 of 144
- Story characterDark · Cold case · Tobacco
- 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.
Toby Jones
Published cast record ↗Nicholas Farrell
Published cast record ↗Phyllis Logan
Published cast record ↗Frank Windsor
Published cast record ↗Jeremy Clyde
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
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Toby Jones
Dr Dan Peterson · Locum pathologistAn acclaimed English character actor across theatre, film and television. His work includes Infamous, Detectorists, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the voice of Dobby in Harry Potter and an Olivier-winning performance in The Play What I Wrote.
- Detectorists
- Mr Bates vs The Post Office
- Infamous
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 Dan Peterson
- Credit
- Locum pathologist
- Played by
- Toby Jones
Peterson covers a brief early-series spell during Bullard's absence and brings a brisk, precise manner to the forensic work.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
5 source rows represent 7 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Carla Constanza
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
- Anna (au pair)
Murder · Poisoning
- Dr. Aycott
Murder · Burning or heat
- Leonard Pike
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
- 3 girls (unamed)×3
Murder · Strangulation or hanging · historical or before the main case
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Dorney Court
Used as: The Tudor house represents the fictional Fox & Goose Hotel.
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
Hambleden
Its church, shop, mill and village streets appear in early cases, while much of Wild Harvest was filmed here.
Open location →
Wallingford
One of the principal doubles for Causton, with its Corn Exchange, riverside and civic streets appearing repeatedly.
Open location →