Case file · Series 21, Episode 2

The Miniature Murders

A disliked property owner is murdered during the unveiling of a dolls-house collection at a family museum.

The 60-second case card

Should I watch this one?

The tiny houses offer a neat visual counterpoint to a case driven by very real homes, landlords and broken relationships.

Best for
Miniatures · Property · Museum
Mood
Classic
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

The tiny houses offer a neat visual counterpoint to a case driven by very real homes, landlords and broken relationships.

A disliked property owner is murdered during the unveiling of a dolls-house collection at a family museum.

Estate agent and landlord Alexander Beauvoisin is killed in front of a crowd gathered for a new dolls-house display at the Midsomer Museum of the Family. His record as a landlord and his separation from Fiona create no shortage of people with reason to resent him.

A second death complicates the apparent romantic triangle, while Alexander's new partner is revealed to have entered his life under a professional identity. Barnaby and Winter connect the victims through an earlier incident and the consequences of property decisions made by the same circle.

  • Miniatures
  • Property
  • Museum
Break the seal: reveal the finding

The killings lead back to an earlier incident in which housing, betrayal and official responsibility became inseparable for those involved.

Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence

Credits, context and checked facts

The episode file

TV series
Series 21
Episode number
Episode 2
Written by
Helen Jenkins
Directed by
Toby Frow
Listed transmission date(s)
11 December 2019 4 February 2020
Reported filming period
May–June 2019
Detective
DCI John Barnaby
Partner
DS Jamie Winter
Pathologist
Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
Principal setting
Causton
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 1 broader filming area and 2 exact on-screen site identities.

Credits and archive connections

  • Writer ledger6 episodes credited to Helen Jenkins
  • Director ledger3 episodes directed by Toby Frow
  • Release positionCase 124 of 144
  • Story characterClassic · Miniatures · Property
  • Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
Three houses behind the miniatures

Locations include an Amersham building, Coleshill House as Fiona Beauvoisin's home, and Stoke Court as Maxine Dobson's house and exhibition venue.

A public murder

Alexander is killed during an unveiling rather than in private, making the crowd, sightlines and museum display part of the opening puzzle.

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.

The performers behind this case

Core cast

Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.

No freely reusable portrait located. A rights-cleared photograph can be added later.
Lead detective

Neil Dudgeon

John Barnaby · Detective Chief Inspector

An 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
No freely reusable portrait located. A rights-cleared photograph can be added later.
Investigating partner

Nick Hendrix

Jamie Winter · Detective Sergeant

An 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
Actor Annette Badland at BBC Elstree Centre in 2016
Photo: AnemoneProjectors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · displayed with a layout crop
Forensic support

Annette Badland

Dr Fleur Perkins · Police pathologist

An 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

2 source rows represent 2 people in the current ledger.

Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
  1. Alexander Beauvoisin

    Murder · Gunshot

  2. Jemima Starling

    Murder · Other recorded death

Search the complete deaths index →

Real place → fictional identity

What was filmed where?

Coleshill, Oxfordshire

Coleshill House

Used as: The property doubles as Fiona Beauvoisin's house.

Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire

Stoke Court

Used as: The manor becomes Maxine Dobson's home and the setting for the miniature exhibition.

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