Overture to MURDER!

FIONA DOLMAN on taking centre stage in a Midsomer mystery set in the world of amateur operatics

MIDSOMER MURDERS
NEW SUNDAY, 8PM, ITV1 DRAMA

Backstage rivalries, high drama and, of course, a fair few corpses are all on the bill in For Death Prepare, a theatrical new episode of ITV1’s Midsomer Murders which marks Neil Dudgeon’s 50th appearance as DCI John Barnaby (see box, opposite page).

It sees the sleuth and his sidekick, DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix), become embroiled in the machinations of a local amateur dramatic society, Midsomer Mummers, after a body is discovered during rehearsals for their centenary concert production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

Barnaby’s wife, Sarah (Fiona Dolman), has been asked to perform by one of the Mummers, her ex-colleague Jeremy Whittingdale, played by Inspector Morse and Lewis star Kevin Whately (see box, right), and Winter also treads the board. But, as the body count rises, can the killer be stopped before curtain up?

Here, in an exclusive chat with TV Times, Fiona, 53, reveals why she particularly loved making this episode…