Case file · Series 12, Episode 4
The Glitch
A professor warns that his valuable computer breakthrough contains a dangerous flaw, placing research ethics against commercial pressure.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A rare technology-centred case that translates software risk into familiar Midsomer rivalries over credit, money and control.
- Best for
- Technology · University · Cycling
- 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
A rare technology-centred case that translates software risk into familiar Midsomer rivalries over credit, money and control.
A professor warns that his valuable computer breakthrough contains a dangerous flaw, placing research ethics against commercial pressure.
Professor George Jeffers has developed a powerful use for computer wafers but believes a glitch could endanger millions if the invention is deployed. Software executive Clinton Finn stands to lose heavily if Jeffers makes the flaw public.
Car attacks, break-ins and deaths draw Barnaby, Jones and Stephens through the university and Soft Earth Systems. Jeffers' passion for cycling becomes more than character detail when the detectives must understand routes, timings and a pursuit carried out on two wheels.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Commercial pressure is real, but the murders also protect a more personal appropriation of Jeffers' work. Cycling evidence breaks the carefully engineered account of opportunity.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 12
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Michael Russell
- Directed by
- Richard Holthouse
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 21 July 2009 23 September 2009
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2008
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer University
- 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 4 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger5 episodes credited to Michael Russell
- Director ledger16 episodes directed by Richard Holthouse
- Release positionCase 70 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Technology · University
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Stoke Court at Stoke Poges represents the technology company's headquarters.
Wellington College and the ruins of Waverley Abbey combine to create the academic setting.
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.
David Haig
Published cast record ↗Jim Norton
Published cast record ↗Philip Jackson
Published cast record ↗Lucy Brown
Published cast record ↗Nigel Whitmey
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 2 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Emily Harte
Murder · Vehicle or machinery
- Daniel Snape
Murder · Vehicle or machinery
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Wellington College
Used as: The college represents St Frideswide.
Waverley Abbey
Used as: The ruined abbey contributes the remains of St Frideswide.
The Royal Standard of England
Used as: The pub becomes the local in fictional Aspern Tallow.
Stoke Court
Used as: The manor represents Soft Earth Systems headquarters.
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
No real-place link is published here until it can be tied to a specific, sourced screen use.