Case file · Series 19, Episode 6 · Season 19, Episode 6
The Curse of the Ninth
A young violinist wins a disputed festival prize, then is strangled with a string as a valuable Stradivarius disappears.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A stolen instrument and a contested award give the mystery an elegant surface; the more dangerous question is who has been performing a false identity.
- Best for
- Classical music · Stradivarius · Hidden identity
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Jamie Winter
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.
Why it matters
A stolen instrument and a contested award give the mystery an elegant surface; the more dangerous question is who has been performing a false identity.
Jacob Wheeler receives the Falconer Award at Thassington's classical festival despite strong support for pianist Zak Sowande. Jacob is then killed with a violin string, and the Stradivarius entrusted to him vanishes from the same competitive musical circle.
Barnaby and Winter investigate disappointed performers, festival patrons and the history attached to the instrument. Further violence reveals that professional ambition is intertwined with family secrets and an identity maintained for many years.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The missing violin and murders protect a concealed identity, with the festival prize forcing people connected to the instrument's past into the same public space.
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 19
- Episode number
- Episode 6
- Written by
- Julia Gilbert
- Directed by
- Matt Carter
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 27 August 2017 20 May 2018
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2016
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Kam Karimore · Manjinder Virk
- Principal setting
- Thassington
- 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 0 broader filming areas and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits7 episodes credited to Julia Gilbert
- Director credits8 episodes directed by Matt Carter
- Release positionCase 116 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Classical music · Stradivarius
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
This episode marks Manjinder Virk's final appearance as Dr Kam Karimore.
Radio Times identifies Watlington Church as the concert location and Chenies Manor House as another filming site. Its report does not identify the episode's pub.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗Episode-specific filming report ↗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
The Curse of the Ninth cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Fiona Dolman
Simon Callow
Caroline Langrishe
Maggie O'Neill
Callum Blake
James Fleet
Robert Daws
Cyril Nri
Flora Spencer-Longhurst
Colin Michael Carmichael
Matthew Jacobs Morgan
Joseph Prowen
Rosie Holden
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
Manjinder Virk
Dr Kam Karimore · Police pathologistA British actor, writer and director known for The Arbor, Britz and Trigger Point. Her filmmaking work includes the award-winning short Out of Darkness, which she wrote and directed.
- The Arbor
- Trigger Point
- Out of Darkness
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 Kam Karimore
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Manjinder Virk
Exceptionally capable and forthright, Kam works across the transition from Charlie Nelson to Jamie Winter.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
2 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Jacob Wheeler
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
Performer check- Jacob Wheeler: Callum Blake
- Vernon De Harthog
Murder · Poisoning
Performer check- Vernon De Harthog: Simon CallowThe earlier ledger printed the surname particle in lower case; the published cast record supports Vernon De Harthog, used here.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Natalie WheelerNatalie strangled Leon De Harthog after discovering that he was impersonating her brother Jacob and intended to take the inheritance, then poisoned Vernon De Harthog when his discovery threatened to expose her. Dan Falconer had caused the real Jacob's fatal fall during a childhood argument and concealed the death, while Ivo Baxter's theft and Warwick Sowande and Audrey Glenhill's scheme remain separate.
Verified motive
Natalie had waited for Jacob's return and wanted to believe Leon's impersonation, but killed him after discovering his plan to take Jacob's inheritance, being mocked for her trust and threatened when she said she would go to the police. She then poisoned Vernon because his discovery of Leon's passport would lead investigators back to her; Dan's childhood concealment of the real Jacob's accidental death remains separate.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Chenies Manor House
Used as: The manor house is an identified filming site for this episode; the published account does not specify which rooms or scenes it represents.
Read the filming source ↗Watlington Church
Used as: The church is used for the episode's concert scenes.
Read the filming source ↗Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
No real-place link is published here until it can be tied to a specific, sourced screen use.