Case file · Series 19, Episode 1 · Season 19, Episode 1
The Village That Rose from the Dead
An abandoned wartime village is opened to competing redevelopment plans before one bidder is crushed by a tank.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Jamie Winter arrives in a case where an apparently empty village has more claimants, memories and commercial futures than residents.
- Best for
- Winter's first case · Ghost village · Redevelopment
- Archive category
- Landmark
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Jamie Winter
- 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
Jamie Winter arrives in a case where an apparently empty village has more claimants, memories and commercial futures than residents.
Little Auburn was requisitioned by the army during the Second World War and never properly resettled. Its proposed reopening pits an environmentally minded scheme against rival bids, with a judging panel deciding which version of the village will be allowed to live again.
Finn Thornberry is killed beneath a tank, and further deaths strike the family involved in choosing the winning proposal. Barnaby and his new sergeant trace ownership rights, wartime history and an unexpected beneficiary hidden inside the redevelopment process.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The redevelopment contest exposes an unexpected inheritance and a family history that changes who has the right to decide Little Auburn's future.
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 19
- Episode number
- Episode 1
- Written by
- Rachel Cuperman & Sally Griffiths
- Directed by
- Nick Laughland
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 18 December 2016
- Reported filming period
- April–May 2016
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Kam Karimore · Manjinder Virk
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Worthy
- Casebook tone
- Landmark
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 4 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits4 episodes credited to Rachel Cuperman & Sally Griffiths
- Director credits9 episodes directed by Nick Laughland
- Release positionCase 111 of 144
- Story characterLandmark · Winter's first case · Ghost village
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Nick Hendrix makes his first appearance as DS Jamie Winter; Paddy also joins the Barnaby household in this episode.
Village tracking shots establish Great Auburn, while Beamond End Lane, Granary Barn and the Manor House provide Little Auburn's museum and family homes.
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 Village That Rose from the Dead cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Sally Phillips
Phillips plays Lucy Keswick in The Village That Rose from the Dead, the opening case of Series 19. Its apparently deserted village offers a suitably odd stage for a performer with a strong comedy background.
Open actor profile →Fiona Dolman
Pippa Haywood
Hugh Dennis
Seeta Indrani
Catherine Steadman
David Burke
Caroline Blakiston
Christopher Colquhoun
Anthony Calf
Angus Wright
William Melling
Edwin Thomas
Matti Houghton
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
Manjinder Virk
Dr Kam Karimore · Police pathologistA British actor, writer and director known for The Arbor, Britz and Trigger Point. Her filmmaking work includes the award-winning short Out of Darkness, which she wrote and directed.
- The Arbor
- Trigger Point
- Out of Darkness
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 Kam Karimore
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Manjinder Virk
Exceptionally capable and forthright, Kam works across the transition from Charlie Nelson to Jamie Winter.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Finn Thornberry
Murder · Crushing
Performer check- Finn Thornberry: Edwin Thomas
- Roderick Craven
Murder · Other recorded death
Performer check- Roderick Craven: Angus Wright
- Milo Craven
Murder · Animal attack
Performer check- Milo Craven: Hugh Dennis
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Julian LennardJulian killed Finn Thornberry after Finn tried to blackmail him over the Little Auburn inheritance scheme, killed Roderick Craven after altering his will and killed Milo Craven to remove the remaining heir. He tried to direct suspicion towards Blake Keswick; Blake's later armed attack on Julian was interrupted and remains separate.
Verified motive
Julian believed the lifelong rumour that Tobias Craven was his father and built a scheme to inherit Little Auburn as the last surviving sibling. He forged Roderick's will, killed Roderick and Milo to clear the line of inheritance, and killed Finn when Finn blackmailed him after being hired to obtain DNA evidence; the episode then reveals that Julian's assumed parentage was false.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Little Missenden village
Used as: Village tracking shots establish fictional Great Auburn.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Beamond End Lane house
Used as: The property supplies Sylvia Lennard's home and the Little Auburn Museum.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Granary Barn
Used as: The barn appears as Milo Craven's house.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.The Manor House
Used as: The manor becomes Roderick Craven'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