Case file · Series 21, Episode 4 · Season 21, Episode 4
With Baited Breath
A fishing competition and an extreme obstacle event collide when a contestant is electrocuted in the water course.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Two competing outdoor events crowd the same village weekend, giving the killer both a busy stage and an abundance of equipment.
- Best for
- Fishing contest · Obstacle race · Old disappearance
- Mood
- Eccentric
- 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
Two competing outdoor events crowd the same village weekend, giving the killer both a busy stage and an abundance of equipment.
Solomon Gorge schedules its fishing competition on the same weekend as an extreme obstacle course, creating a dispute over space, visitors and whose event matters most. Lex Bedford is found electrocuted in a water obstacle, turning the rivalry into an investigation.
Two more deaths widen the circle of suspects. Barnaby and Winter eventually discover that Lola Silvermane, believed to have left the village a decade earlier, is the missing part of the present pattern.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The murders are organised around Lola Silvermane's death and the false story that she travelled away, with the weekend events providing opportunities to target those who knew more.
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 21
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Jeff Povey
- Directed by
- Jennie Darnell
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 25 December 2019 28 March 2021
- Reported filming period
- July–August 2019
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Solomon Gorge
- 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 1 exact on-screen site identity.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits8 episodes credited to Jeff Povey
- Director credits1 episode directed by Jennie Darnell
- Release positionCase 126 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Fishing contest · Obstacle race
- Location evidence1 exact screen-use match
The Six Bells at Warborough appears as the village pub in Solomon Gorge.
The story combines literal angling bait with suspects drawn into a competition designed to expose old grievances.
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
With Baited Breath cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Fiona Dolman
Isabel Shaw
Bronagh Waugh
Nicola Stephenson
Eleanor Fanyinka
Vincent Franklin
Krupa Pattani
Nitin Ganatra
Aneurin Barnard
Chelsea Mather
Miles Jupp
Paul Hunter
Andrew Brooke
John Stahl
Lloyd Everitt
Morgan Watkins
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
4 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Lex Bedford
Murder · Electrocution
Performer check- Lex Bedford: Andrew Brooke
- Ned Skye
Murder · Other recorded death
Performer check- Ned Skye: Nitin Ganatra
- Cornelius Tetbury
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- Cornelius Tetbury: Miles Jupp
- Lola Silvermane
Murder · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Lola Silvermane: not listed in the current published cast recordThe historical victim is named in the episode synopsis, but no Lola Silvermane performer appears in the current published cast record; Izzy Silvermane is a different character.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Artie BlytheArtie killed Lex Bedford and Ned Skye after learning that they had concealed his daughter Lola Silvermane's death, and killed Cornelius Tetbury after mistaking his hat for Griffin Twigg's. He then prepared to drown Blaise McQuinn and himself before the attack was stopped. Lola's death was an earlier road accident involving Griffin's jeep, followed by concealment and false postcards rather than a murder by Artie.
Verified motive
Artie's revenge began when Lex confessed that he and the others had caused and concealed Lola's death. Artie had only just learned he was her father, had sent her back to her mother and spent a decade blaming himself and trying to find her; he cast killing those responsible as justice, with Cornelius an unintended mistaken target and Blaise part of his planned final drowning.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
The Six Bells
Used as: The pub becomes The Fisherman's Arms in fictional Solomon Gorge.
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