Case file · Series 22, Episode 1
The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy
A homemade monster becomes a viral attraction before someone starts killing in the style of the village's new legend.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Midsomer discovers viral folklore and responds in the only reasonable way: with a themed murder case.
- Best for
- Urban legend · Social media · Halloween
- Mood
- Eccentric
- 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
Midsomer discovers viral folklore and responds in the only reasonable way: with a themed murder case.
A homemade monster becomes a viral attraction before someone starts killing in the style of the village's new legend.
Little Worthy's Halloween attraction begins as a photographer's homemade monster and rapidly becomes an online phenomenon. Visitors crowd the woods hoping to glimpse the Wolf Hunter, giving the village a profitable new legend and the killer a ready-made disguise.
When Jez Gladberry is found dead in a manner associated with the creature, Barnaby and Winter trace the story through its creator, the people promoting it and an earlier local enterprise. The case asks who benefits when an invented myth becomes more valuable than the truth behind it.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The Wolf Hunter is a human invention whose success provides cover for revenge rooted in the collapse of an earlier venture and the damage left behind.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 22
- Episode number
- Episode 1
- Written by
- Chris Murray
- Directed by
- Matt Carter
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 4 April 2021
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2020
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Little Worthy
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
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 3 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger6 episodes credited to Chris Murray
- Director ledger8 episodes directed by Matt Carter
- Release positionCase 127 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Urban legend · Social media
- Location evidence3 exact screen-use matches
Brill windmill appears as Eric Gladberry's home, giving the invented legend one of the episode's most distinctive real-world backdrops.
Ye Olde Bell Hotel appears as The Lamb, Monks' Barn supplies The Hub, and a High Street house becomes Kelly and Josie'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
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.
Maimie McCoy
Published cast record ↗Poppy Gilbert
Published cast record ↗Louise Jameson
Published cast record ↗Brian Bovell
Published cast record ↗Mark Williams
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
Annette Badland
Dr Fleur Perkins · Police pathologistAn 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
- Jez Gladberry
Murder · Gunshot
- Kelly Kirk-Lees
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Brill Windmill
Used as: The hilltop windmill appears as Eric Gladberry's home.
Ye Olde Bell Hotel
Used as: The hotel is presented as The Lamb, the traditional pub in fictional Little Worthy.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Monks' Barn
Used as: The barn becomes The Hub, one of Little Worthy's principal community settings.
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