Case file · Series 12, Episode 7 · Season 12, Episode 7
The Great and the Good
A sleepwalking teacher fears an intruder before two men are killed near her home during preparations for a school fundraiser.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Respectable charity work supplies a social hierarchy as dangerous as any country estate.
- Best for
- Village school · Fundraising · Sleepwalking
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- 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
Respectable charity work supplies a social hierarchy as dangerous as any country estate.
Teacher Connie Bishop suffers disturbing dreams, sleepwalks and believes someone has entered her house. When a councillor and then a handyman are found with their throats cut nearby, her uncertain memory makes her an easy suspect.
Barnaby remains unconvinced while the village's annual school fundraiser is reshaped by philanthropist Howard Richardson and his status-conscious wife Zukie. Rival plans, private humiliations and Connie's night-time experiences converge at the charity evening.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Connie's sleepwalking is exploited to make her doubt herself. Barnaby connects the fundraiser's social grievances to the intrusions and arrests the killer during the event.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Use these spoiler-safe prompts to notice the setting, the investigation and the details that may matter.
- Place
How does Ford Florey shape what people say openly, delay, or leave unsaid?
- Theme
Which details seem to carry more than one meaning, and what might be a red herring?
- Teamwork
Compare how DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Ben Jones gather information: who watches the room, and who presses the conversation forward?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 12
- Episode number
- Episode 7
- Written by
- David Hoskins
- Directed by
- Richard Holthouse
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 4 October 2009 14 April 2010
- Reported filming period
- March–April 2009
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Ford Florey
- 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 3 broader filming areas and 6 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits9 episodes credited to David Hoskins
- Director credits16 episodes directed by Richard Holthouse
- Release positionCase 73 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Village school · Fundraising
- Location evidence6 exact screen-use matches
Frieth School appears as the village primary school, with the neighbouring hall used as Justin Hooper's studio.
The Six Bells in Warborough returns as Ford Florey's pub, beside the house used for Connie's home.
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
The Great and the Good cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Jane Wymark
Kirsty Dillon
Paul Kaye
Bertie Carvel
Monica Dolan
Paola Dionisotti
Nancy Carroll
Deddie Davies
Deborah Moore
Suzanne Burden
Claire Oberman
Tim Wylton
John Atterbury
John Ramm
Maroussia Frank
Paul Chapman
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
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 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Councillor Jim Hanley
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Councillor Jim Hanley: Tim WyltonThe body-count ledger includes Jim Hanley’s councillor title; the published cast record credits the same full name without the title.
- Laurence Mann
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Laurence Mann: Paul KayeThe body-count ledger prints ‘Lawrence Mann’; the published cast record supports ‘Laurence Mann’, used here.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Howard RichardsonHoward killed Councillor Jim Hanley and Laurence Mann, then used Connie Bishop's home, boots and fingerprints with remote sound recordings to frame her as a sleepwalking killer. His aim was to force the village school to close so that he could reclaim its valuable building; Zukie Richardson is cleared of involvement in the murders.
Verified motive
Howard's failed spread betting left him needing the valuable school building to revert to him under its covenant so he could sell it. He killed Hanley when the councillor resisted blackmail and intended to approve the extension that would keep the school viable, then killed Laurence after Laurence identified and blackmailed him.
Verified important clue
Archive case 73 · checked 16 September 2026The remote-controlled speaker in Connie's spare roomThe device can replay the creaking floorboards, footsteps and whispered command that Connie heard while half asleep, proving that her supposed nightmares were manufactured; the staged guilt then points back to Howard's school-reversion scheme and trading losses.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 73 · checked 17 September 2026The remote-controlled speaker in Connie's spare roomThe device reproduces the floorboards, footsteps and whispered command Connie heard while half asleep, proving that her apparent nightmares were manufactured. It exposes Howard's use of Connie's home, boots and fingerprints to frame her, connecting the two murders to his plan to force the school building's reversion.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 73 · checked 16 September 2026- discoveryThe school covenant creates a financial motive
Howard needs the school to close so its valuable building will revert to him and cover his spread-betting losses.
- deathCouncillor Jim Hanley is killed
Howard kills Hanley after the councillor resists blackmail and supports an extension that would keep the village school viable.
- discoveryConnie Bishop is framed
Howard uses Connie's home, boots and fingerprints, together with remote sound recordings, to suggest that she kills while sleepwalking.
- discoveryLaurence Mann identifies the scheme
Laurence recognises Howard's involvement and tries to blackmail him with what he knows.
- deathLaurence Mann is killed
Howard kills Laurence to stop the blackmail and preserve the plan to recover the school property.
- discoveryThe staged sounds and prints clear Connie
The framing method and financial trail expose Howard, while Connie and Zukie Richardson are kept outside the murder attribution.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
The Royal Saracens Head
Used as: The hotel appears as a restaurant in Ford Florey.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Frieth School
Used as: The school represents Ford Florey's primary school.
Frieth Village Hall
Used as: The hall becomes Justin Hooper's art studio.
Portland Place
Used as: The cottage becomes the Stroud family home.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
The Six Bells
Used as: The pub appears as Ford Florey's local.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Village-green house
Used as: The house beside the pub represents Connie Bishop's home.
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
Places connected to this file
Beaconsfield
Old-town architecture, churches and nearby estates have supplied homes, police buildings and village streets throughout the run.
Open location →Littlewick Green
Its green, Cricketers pub, church and village hall support episodes involving cricket, film, insects and scarecrows.
Open location →Warborough
Its broad green, cottages and Six Bells pub have portrayed several villages and supplied recurring community scenes.
Open location →