Case file · Series 15, Episode 3 · Season 15, Episode 3
Written in the Stars
A solar-eclipse gathering at an observatory is followed by deaths involving a meteorite, a spear and an astronomical disc.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The celestial murder methods are flamboyant, but the case is grounded in professional ownership and personal betrayal.
- Best for
- Astronomy · Solar eclipse · Academic rivalry
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- 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
The celestial murder methods are flamboyant, but the case is grounded in professional ownership and personal betrayal.
Members of the Midsomer Stanton Astronomical Society gather on Moonstone Ridge for a total solar eclipse. Their celebration is followed by a sequence of bizarre deaths using astronomical objects and imagery, including a meteorite and a bronze disc.
Scorpio appears to connect the victims, but Barnaby doubts that astrology supplies the real logic. He and Jones investigate the observatory, rival researchers and a valuable discovery whose credit may matter more than any horoscope.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The Scorpio pattern is a designed distraction. Barnaby follows disputed academic credit and a concealed relationship to find the practical motive beneath the astronomical staging.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Use these spoiler-safe prompts to notice the setting, the investigation and the details that may matter.
- Place
How does Midsomer Stanton shape what people say openly, delay, or leave unsaid?
- Theme
Which details seem to carry more than one meaning, and what might be a red herring?
- Teamwork
Compare how DCI John Barnaby and DS Ben Jones gather information: who watches the room, and who presses the conversation forward?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 15
- Episode number
- Episode 3
- Written by
- Steve Trafford
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 24 September 2012
- Reported filming period
- May–June 2012
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr Kate Wilding · Tamzin Malleson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Stanton
- 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 0 broader filming areas and 6 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits4 episodes credited to Steve Trafford
- Director credits23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 92 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Astronomy · Solar eclipse
- Location evidence6 exact screen-use matches
The UCL Observatory at Mill Hill represents Stanton Observatory.
Sonning-on-Thames provides the Midsomer Mercury office, museum, tea room and yoga-hall exterior.
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
Written in the Stars cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Maureen Lipman
Lipman plays Margaret 'Mags' Dormer in Written in the Stars, a mystery set amid an astronomical society and a village under an eclipse. The role adds a veteran stage and screen performer to the show's eccentric local circle.
Open actor profile →Fiona Dolman
Clare Calbraith
Ace Bhatti
Harry Hadden-Paton
Barnaby Kay
Jay Taylor
Kenny Ireland
Soraya Radford
Tim Wallers
Charles Daish
Kelly Price
Shaun Lucas
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
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · InspectorA Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.
- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
Tamzin Malleson
Dr Kate Wilding · Police pathologistAn English actor whose best-known television work includes Dangerfield, Teachers, the medical drama Bodies and Unforgotten. She has also appeared in Poirot, Marcella and A Touch of Frost.
- Teachers
- Bodies
- Unforgotten
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 Kate Wilding
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Tamzin Malleson
Bullard's assured, no-nonsense successor combines forensic authority with a more informal chemistry around the John Barnaby team.
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
- Jeremy Harper
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- Jeremy Harper: Tim Wallers
- Peter Groves
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Peter Groves: Jay Taylor
- George Dormer
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- George Dormer: Kenny Ireland
- Mary Dutta
Accidental, natural or other · Fall · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Mary Dutta: not listed in the current published cast recordNo Mary Dutta performer appears in the current published cast record. Harry and Gagan Dutta are separately credited characters, so neither is treated as this historical victim.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Adrian SharpAdrian killed Jeremy Harper, Peter Groves and George Dormer while disguising the crimes as a Scorpio-themed sequence and steering suspicion towards Lawrence Janson. He then abducted Gagan and prepared to kill her for sole credit for the planet discovery; Mary Dutta's much earlier fall was an accident caused by Margaret Dormer and concealed by the group.
Verified motive
Adrian killed and manipulated the evidence to obtain the glory of claiming Gagan's new planet and to frame Lawrence, the former pupil he resented for taking the observatory directorship. He needed Gagan alive only until she identified the star, then intended to take sole credit for the discovery.
Verified important clue
Archive case 92 · checked 17 September 2026Gagan's final mobile-phone call to AdrianThe call log places Gagan in contact with Adrian at 4:45, after the time he claimed she left his cottage. That lie breaks his carefully shared alibi and exposes how the Scorpio signatures and stolen-data story were steering the inquiry towards Lawrence.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 92 · checked 25 September 2026Gagan's final call to Adrian at 4:45The phone record contradicts Adrian's claim that his last contact with Gagan was at four. That false account breaks his alibi and prompts Barnaby to reconsider the Scorpio signs and stolen-data trail as deliberate misdirection towards Lawrence, while keeping Mary Dutta's earlier death and Gagan's abduction distinct.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 92 · checked 16 September 2026- deathMary Dutta dies years earlier
Mary's fall is an accident caused by Margaret Dormer and concealed by the observatory group, not one of Adrian's murders.
- deathJeremy Harper is killed
Adrian begins the present sequence while shaping the evidence into a Scorpio-themed pattern.
- deathPeter Groves is killed
A second staged death strengthens the apparent astrological link and pushes suspicion towards Lawrence Janson.
- deathGeorge Dormer is killed
Adrian kills George as the old observatory history and the present scheme close in on him.
- discoveryThe Scorpio staging is decoded
The pattern is revealed as a device for framing Lawrence and concealing Adrian's pursuit of credit for Gagan's discovery.
- discoveryGagan is rescued
Adrian abducts Gagan and prepares to kill her after she identifies the new planet, but the attempt is interrupted.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Hyde Heath Village Hall
Used as: The hall provides the interior of the yoga-class venue.
UCL Observatory
Used as: The working observatory represents Stanton Observatory.
The Old Forge
Used as: The building becomes the headquarters of the Midsomer Mercury.
Village building
Used as: A building is used for Stanton Museum and the Moonstone Ridge Tea Rooms.
Pearson Hall
Used as: The hall provides the exterior of the yoga-class venue.
St Nicolas' Church
Used as: The church becomes the parish church of Midsomer Stanton.
Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
No real-place link is published here until it can be tied to a specific, sourced screen use.