Case file · Series 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. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
Jamie Winter arrives in a case where an apparently empty village has more claimants, memories and commercial futures than residents.
An abandoned wartime village is opened to competing redevelopment plans before one bidder is crushed by a tank.
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.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- 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
- Little Auburn
- 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 ledger4 episodes credited to Rachel Cuperman & Sally Griffiths
- Director ledger9 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
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.
Sally Phillips
Published cast record ↗Pippa Haywood
Published cast record ↗Christopher Colquhoun
Published cast record ↗Hugh Dennis
Published cast record ↗Caroline Blakiston
Published cast record ↗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 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Finn Thornberry
Murder · Crushing
- Roderick Craven
Murder · Other recorded death
- Milo Craven
Murder · Animal attack
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.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