FLEUR power!

ANNETTE BADLAND on the joys of keeping Barnaby and Winter on their toes in Midsomer

- HANNAH DAVIES

MIDSOMER MURDERS

TUESDAY, 8.15PM, ITV1 DRAMA

With her brilliant medical deductions, scene-stealing one-liners and witty put-downs, Dr Fleur Perkins has become a firm favourite with fans of Midsomer Murders since she first zoomed into the hit ITV1 whodunnit on her Harley-Davidson five years ago.

And when star Annette Badland joins TV Times for an exclusive interview, it’s clear she feels equally affectionate towards the fearless pathologist.

‘Fleur’s daring and lives life to the full. She’s also a very bright woman,’ smiles the acclaimed actor, 73. ‘What I love is that she’s constantly one step ahead of DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter. Honestly, those boys are so slow!’

As Series 23 resumes this week with brand-new case The Debt of Lies, it’s once again down to Fleur to work out the cause of death when a top detective is found murdered following her retirement party. But with plenty of disgruntled colleagues under suspicion, Barnaby (played by Neil Dudgeon) and Winter (Nick Hendrix) have their work cut out to pin down the culprit!

Here, Annette shares her case notes…

What clues can you give us about the mystery at the heart of The Debt of Lies?

Well, it opens with a celebration for the career of DCS Elaine Bennet [Sabina Franklyn], who’s leaving and moving to a high-end police-retirement community, which is jam-packed with excoppers. But Elaine’s car goes off the road and she is killed, and, of course, Fleur’s the one who spots the cut brake cable and works out that Elaine didn’t deliberately drive off the road!

As always, the episode features some big-name guest stars, doesn’t it?