Case file · Series 24, Episode 1 · Season 24, Episode 1
The Devil's Work
A country-estate funeral is followed by a radically different inheritance plan—and then by murder within the Shirewell family circle.
Verified filming locations
Every filming site currently documented in this Casebook file is listed here. The published evidence does not establish a complete production itinerary.
- Mapledurham House and estate · Mapledurham, Oxfordshire
The house and wider estate represent the fictional Stourwick Estate.
Location guide → Filming source ↗
Map lookup by place name. A private house’s exact address is not marked.
Selected episode credits
The Devil's Work cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Fiona Dolman
Isabel Shaw
Peter Serafinowicz
Sarah Woodward
Ginny Holder
Alex Macqueen
Charles Dale
Agni Scott
Miya James
Verity Marshall
Patrick Pearson
Jade Harrison
Joshua Griffin
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
An old estate becomes a battleground between inherited privilege, artistic reinvention and competing ideas of ownership.
- Best for
- Artist colony · Inheritance · Country estate
- Mood
- Dark
- 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
An old estate becomes a battleground between inherited privilege, artistic reinvention and competing ideas of ownership.
Following the natural death of family patriarch Henry Shirewell, eldest son Lucian announces that Stourwick will no longer continue as a conventional family estate. His plan for artists' spaces, renewable energy and public access immediately divides relatives whose futures were built around a very different succession.
The first killing places Lucian and those closest to him under scrutiny. An open day brings Sarah and Betty Barnaby onto the estate as the investigation moves between family loyalties, personal relationships and the practical consequences of changing who controls the land.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The murders grow from succession, concealed relationships and the damage caused by decisions made long before Lucian announces his plans for Stourwick.
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 24
- Episode number
- Episode 1
- Written by
- Julia Gilbert
- Directed by
- Roberto Bangura
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 10 November 2023
- Reported filming period
- March–April 2023
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Stourwick Estate
- 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 credits7 episodes credited to Julia Gilbert
- Director credits4 episodes directed by Roberto Bangura
- Release positionCase 137 of 144
- Story characterDark · Artist colony · Inheritance
- Location evidence1 exact screen-use match
Mapledurham House and its wider Oxfordshire estate provide the principal exterior identity for fictional Stourwick.
Sarah and Betty attend Stourwick's open day, giving the Barnaby household a direct connection to the investigation's central location.
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.
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
6 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Henry Shirewell
Accidental, natural or other · Natural or unexplained
Performer check- Henry Shirewell: not listed in the current published cast recordHenry Shirewell dies before the principal action, and no performer appears for him in the current published cast record.
- Jordana Linsbury
Murder · Other recorded death
Performer check- Jordana Linsbury: Verity Marshall
- Francis Shirewell
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
Performer check- Francis Shirewell: Alex Macqueen
- Caleb Blundell
Murder · Burning or heat
Performer check- Caleb Blundell: Joshua Griffin
- Clarissa Shirewell
Murder · Fall · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Clarissa Shirewell: not listed in the current published cast recordThe historical victim is named in the story record, but no Clarissa Shirewell performer appears in the current published cast record.
- Unnamed child
Accidental, natural or other · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Unnamed child: not listed in the current published cast recordThe historical child is not named, and no corresponding performer appears in the current published cast record; no identity has been inferred from another character.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Ursula ShirewellUrsula killed her mother Clarissa years earlier, then killed Jordana Linsbury, Francis Shirewell and Caleb Blundell as threats to her place at Stourwick and its succession emerged. Henry Shirewell died naturally, while Ursula's premature baby died shortly after birth and is not treated as a murder victim.
Verified motive
Ursula's motive combined a lifelong need to prove herself within the Shirewell family with possession of Stourwick. As a child she pushed Clarissa after her mother rejected her for being a girl; decades later she killed Jordana over a supposed pregnancy that threatened succession, killed Francis when he planned to sell the estate and humiliated her, and killed Caleb when his parentage threatened her claim, all to secure the home and legacy she believed were hers.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Mapledurham House and estate
Used as: The house and wider estate represent the fictional Stourwick Estate.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas