Midsomer Murders is a
British television detective drama that has aired on
ITV since 1997. The show is based on
Caroline Graham's
Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, as originally adapted by
Anthony Horowitz. The current lead character is
DCI John Barnaby (
Neil Dudgeon), who works for Causton
CID. Dudgeon's character is the younger cousin of former lead character DCI
Tom Barnaby (
John Nettles). Dudgeon first appeared as randy gardener Daniel Bolt in the Series 4 episode "Garden of Death". Dudgeon permanently joined the show in 2011 following Nettles' departure.