Case file · Series 7, Episode 5
The Maid in Splendour
Two shootings at a beloved village pub leave Barnaby asking whether the first victim was ever the intended target.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
One pub appears in two visual forms, neatly echoing a case in which ownership and intended victims are both contested.
- Best for
- Village pub · Family business · Mistaken target
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Dan Scott
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
One pub appears in two visual forms, neatly echoing a case in which ownership and intended victims are both contested.
Two shootings at a beloved village pub leave Barnaby asking whether the first victim was ever the intended target.
The Maid in Splendour remains popular under former landlord Michael Bannerman, but control has passed to his severe son Stephen. Young barman Jamie Cruickshank is shot outside the pub, shocking a staff and clientele already divided over how the business should be run.
Stephen is then killed with the same weapon, forcing Barnaby and Scott to reconsider the first shooting. Family expectations, an undeclared relationship and plans for the pub all depend on deciding whether Jamie was the target or simply in somebody else's place.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The order of the shootings matters: the first death is part of a plan centred on the Bannerman family, the pub's future and a relationship kept from view.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 7
- Episode number
- Episode 5
- Written by
- Andrew Payne
- Directed by
- Richard Holthouse
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 25 January 2004
- Reported filming period
- September–October 2003
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Dan Scott
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Worthy
- 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 4 broader filming areas and 3 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger11 episodes credited to Andrew Payne
- Director ledger16 episodes directed by Richard Holthouse
- Release positionCase 33 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Village pub · Family business
- Location evidence3 exact screen-use matches
The George Hotel at Dorchester-on-Thames supplies The Maid in Splendour, while Nettlebed's White Hart represents its refurbished appearance.
Dorchester Museum becomes the conservation society office, and a Haddenham house supplies the Cruickshank garage.
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.
Frances Tomelty
Published cast record ↗William Gaunt
Published cast record ↗Dave Hill
Published cast record ↗Sophie Hunter
Published cast record ↗Leon Ockenden
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
John Hopkins
Dan Scott · Detective SergeantAn English actor with extensive stage, screen and voice work. His credits include the Royal Shakespeare Company, Poldark and Alice in Wonderland, as well as prominent game performances in Horizon, Hitman and Assassin's Creed.
- Royal Shakespeare Company
- Poldark
- Horizon game series
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
- Jamie Cruickshank
Murder · Gunshot
- Stephen Bannerman
Murder · Gunshot
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
The George Hotel
Used as: The hotel first appears as The Maid in Splendour pub.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Dorchester Museum
Used as: The museum becomes the Midsomer Worthy conservation society's premises.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
The White Hart Hotel
Used as: The hotel supplies The Maid in Splendour's refurbished screen appearance.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.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
Dorchester-on-Thames
The abbey, museum, hotels and village streets provide a recurring mixture of grandeur and intimacy.
Open location →
Haddenham
The duck pond, witchert walls, shops and village buildings have portrayed numerous Midsomer communities.
Open location →Nettlebed
The village and its Crocker End hamlet have doubled for greens, halls, pubs and festival settings.
Open location →
Thame
A versatile Causton and village backdrop whose town hall, museum, shops and surrounding estates take many identities.
Open location →