Case file · Series 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.
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. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
An old estate becomes a battleground between inherited privilege, artistic reinvention and competing ideas of ownership.
A country-estate funeral is followed by a radically different inheritance plan—and then by murder within the Shirewell family circle.
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.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- 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 ledger7 episodes credited to Julia Gilbert
- Director ledger4 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.
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.
Peter Serafinowicz
Published cast record ↗Sarah Woodward
Published cast record ↗Alex Macqueen
Published cast record ↗Ginny Holder
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
6 source rows represent 6 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Henry Shirewell
Accidental, natural or other · Natural or unexplained
- Jordana Linsbury
Murder · Other recorded death
- Francis Shirewell
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
- Caleb Blundell
Murder · Burning or heat
- Clarissa Shirewell
Accidental, natural or other · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
- Unnamed child
Accidental, natural or other · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
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