Case file · Series 10, Episode 2
The Animal Within
An Australian niece arrives to visit a wealthy uncle and learns that his friends have already been told she died in a plane crash.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The case turns a circle of apparently devoted friends into rival narrators of one man's estate.
- Best for
- Conflicting wills · River death · False report
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
The case turns a circle of apparently devoted friends into rival narrators of one man's estate.
An Australian niece arrives to visit a wealthy uncle and learns that his friends have already been told she died in a plane crash.
Faith Alexander travels from Australia to surprise her uncle, photographer Rex Masters, only to discover that Rex has reported her death in an aircraft disaster. Before she can demand an explanation, Rex is found in the river beside his house at Bellville Lock.
The inquiry uncovers a remarkable collection of wills, each apparently leaving the whole estate to a different friend. Barnaby and Jones must decide which promises Rex meant, which were performances, and why a living niece was removed from the story before her plane had even landed.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The contradictory wills are deliberate provocations rather than simple legal confusion. Rex's treatment of the people around him—and an older family grievance—gives the killer both motive and opportunity.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 10
- Episode number
- Episode 2
- Written by
- David Hoskins
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 19 January 2007
- Reported filming period
- June–July 2006
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Bellville
- Casebook tone
- Classic
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 3 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger9 episodes credited to David Hoskins
- Director ledger23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 53 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Conflicting wills · River death
- Location evidence3 exact screen-use matches
Hambleden Lock and its lock keeper's cottage create Rex Masters's waterside home and the principal crime-scene setting.
Village houses supply the Carnack home, Jeremy Thacker's cottage and the Mama Lucy Museum.
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.
Lisa Eichhorn
Published cast record ↗Richard Johnson
Published cast record ↗Samuel West
Published cast record ↗Linda Bassett
Published cast record ↗David Troughton
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
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · InspectorA Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.
- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
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 George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
2 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Rex Masters
Murder · Drowning
- Miles King/Eileen Carnack×2
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Hambleden Lock
Used as: The lock and river create Bellville Lock, where Rex Masters is found.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Hambleden Lock keeper's cottage
Used as: The waterside cottage represents Rex Masters's home.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Village houses
Used as: Several properties become Eileen Carnack's home, Jeremy Thacker's cottage and the Mama Lucy Museum.
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
Hambleden
Its church, shop, mill and village streets appear in early cases, while much of Wild Harvest was filmed here.
Open location →Littlewick Green
Its green, Cricketers pub, church and village hall support episodes involving cricket, film, insects and scarecrows.
Open location →