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EXCLUSIVE: Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon has nothing but praise for his co-stars

Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon has paid tribute to his “absolute treasure” co-star while discussing his return as DCI Barnaby in the popular ITV series.

Production for the forthcoming series of Midsomer Murders is presently underway, with Neil reprising his role as DCI Barnaby alongside his sidekick Sergeant Jamie Winter (portrayed by Nick Hendrix) and Dr. Fleur Perkins (Annette Badland).

However, in an exclusive chat with Reach PLC, Neil revealed what it was like collaborating with his cherished co-stars.

When questioned about working with Nick and Annette “so closely”, Neil responded, “It is great. Annette has played Fleur for years and years and is still there.

“Whenever we meet her, she’s saying, ‘Oh, you know, I’ve just come back from such and such, where I’ve been filming this, and I’m going to Manchester next week,” reports the Express.

“She’s in three or four days, and episodes in between, she’s going off doing all sorts of things, but she’s in great demand, because she’s such an absolute treasure.”

He added, “And Nick is fantastic, and I feel very blessed. I’ve always felt very blessed because when I started, I had Jason Hughes, who was the Sergeant.

“And then when Jason left, I thought ‘Oh, it won’t be the same’, and then Gwilym Lee came along, and it changed him because Barnaby and Jason’s characters were more similar in age, they had a different kind of relationship, and me and Jason had a different kind of relationship, which was hilarious.” Recalling an amusing behind-the-scenes incident, the DCI Barnaby star added, “And we behaved terribly.

“I remember one day we were both so overcome with the hysterics that the director said to us, ‘You can’t carry on until you calm down…alright, both of you out’.

“And he sent us out of the location, and to the car park to calm down, which just made us worse.”

Heaping further praise on his co-stars, the actor continued, “And then Gwilym came along, who was just wonderful and lovely and fantastic.

“And then when he left, I thought, ‘Oh no, I can’t be lucky a third time’. And then Nick came along, and he’s just fantastic. He’s great to work with, and I think we get along pretty well, and it’s so important, because for the five months or so that we’re filming, you meet up at seven o’clock in the morning, and you’re standing next to each other, working with each other until seven o’clock at night.”

Emphasising the significance of their working relationship, he explained, “You know, it’s like 12 hours a day, five days a week for five months. During that period, I’m seeing much more of him than I am of my own family. I think if you’re doing that with somebody you didn’t get on with, that would be really, really hard.”

Midsomer Murders is available to stream on ITVX.

Tony Maudsley is best known for his role as George Shuttleworth on Coronation Street and away from the soap he lives a far less dramatic life

Tony Maudsley is a beloved figure on Coronation Street – but what do we know about his life off the set?

Tony joined the ITV soap in 2020, portraying George Shuttleworth, the son of the late funeral director Archie (Roy Hudd). Since then, he’s won over viewers and has been involved in numerous major plotlines.

Particularly now, as George is inching closer to uncovering the truth about wicked Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), who has been tormenting Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) for several months, reports the Daily Star.

Off-screen, actor Tony leads a far less dramatic life. Here, we delve into the accomplished star’s personal world.

Tony’s Hollywood Stardom

In addition to Corrie, Tony has featured in Queer As Folk, Emmerdale and also starred in the popular ITV sitcom Benidorm, playing hairdresser Kenneth Du Beke from 2011 to 2018.

Moreover, Tony made an appearance in the Harry Potter series in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, portraying Hagrid’s half-brother, Gawp.

Reflecting on his time in Harry Potter, Tony remarked: “It was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever done. I was weighed down with these huge monster feet that were so heavy, that I could never get into the canteen and back in time.”

Tony also shared screen space with Johnny Depp in the film Sleepy Hollow – but had an awkward encounter with the Hollywood icon. He revealed to Soap Inside magazine: “Very early on in my career, I worked with Johnny Depp on the film Sleepy Hollow.

“At the time, I’d stopped smoking for three years – but Johnny invited me for a roll-up round the back of the set, and I couldn’t say no! So, there I was trying to look cool with Johnny, while choking on a cigarette. It’s been a pretty lovely career.”

Tony’s private family life

Tony regularly keeps his devoted following of 77,000 Instagram fans informed about his daily activities. Earlier this year, he offered supporters an uncommon glimpse into his personal world when he posted multiple pictures of his beloved dog following a grooming session.

He wrote alongside the post: “Took Bosie to a new groomers today in Worsley Village and they did a great job! They even cleaned his teeth (well the few he’s got left!)”

And in March, Tony honoured his seldom-seen mother after sharing a photograph of them together for Mother’s Day. In the image, Tony appeared delighted standing next to his mum. He wrote with the post: “Happy Mother’s Day from me and mine.”

Tony’s grief following tragic loss

In January 2024, Tony expressed his devastation after his friend Michael McGarrigle – who collaborated with Tony on ITV’s Benidorm – had died.

Tony initially requested assistance from his followers to locate costume supervisor Michael who had disappeared, but days afterwards he confirmed the tragic news that Michael had passed away.

Posting a photo with Michael, Tony shared a heartfelt tribute to his mate: “Thank you so much to everyone for all your efforts in reposting our appeal to find Michael yesterday. I’m so sad to say that we found out late last night that we’ve lost our beautiful friend.

“Our whole Benidorm family is devastated and we’ll miss him hugely. RIP Michael.”

In addition to Benidorm, Michael served as the costume supervisor on programmes such as Prisoners Wives Maternal, The Larkins, DCI Banks, Whitechapel, Mrs Biggs, Annika and The Fear. He was also the co-owner of a musical theatre and cabaret bar in Brighton, Bar Broadway.

Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX

BBC’s Comic Relief saw host Davina McCall issue an apology during the live show after Nick Mohammed used explicit language during a Rubik’s Cube challenge on Friday night

Presenter Davina McCall addressed viewers watching Comic Relief on Friday night (March 20) following Nick Mohammed’s strong language.

During the BBC programme, which featured Catherine Tate reprising her role as Nan, Celebrity Traitors star Nick was tasked with completing eight Rubik’s Cubes in one minute.

Supporting him on stage was his mate and former Celebrity Traitors co-star Joe Marler, who was dressed up in drag.

When the clock started, it was obvious the comedian was flustered as at one point he was heard saying: “F**k” before later adding “s**t”.

However, Nick didn’t manage to successfully complete any Rubik’s Cube at all before revealing he had been creating a pattern instead, reports Wales Online.

He said: “Ok, right. I was a little bit distracted. But, in all honesty, I was still feeling a little bit guilty for betraying Joe all those months ago.

“So, instead of actually solving the Rubik’s Cubes, I actually just had something that I did want to say to Joe.”

As he turned the items over, the red colours on the blocks spelled out the word ‘sorry’, which earned a huge round of applause from the audience, along with a hug from Joe.

However, Davina quickly addressed the explicit swear words Nick had uttered during his 60 seconds. She commented: “Before we go any further, we just want to apologise if anybody heard any bad language there. It was a very high-stress situation.”

Nick appeared oblivious to the fact he’d sworn on live television as he questioned whether the ‘bad language’ Davina mentioned was his doing. The BBC presenter added: “I’m not sure, let’s not go over it again!”

Throughout the fundraising evening, Davina was accompanied by several guests to assist with co-hosting duties. Initially, viewers were treated to Joel Dommett and Catherine Tate as Nan.

Nick subsequently joined her for the programme’s second segment before Katherine Ryan finally came aboard to conclude the event.

During the broadcast, Davina welcomed Greg James to announce the final sum he’d accumulated over eight gruelling days completing a mammoth cycling challenge.

She informed the radio presenter he’d raised an impressive £4,225,939 as the audience burst into applause.

He responded: “Wow! Thank you to everyone who donated, wow.” Left momentarily lost for words, the crowd began chanting his name in appreciation.

Comic Relief: Funny For Money is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

EXCLUSIVE: Beyond Paradise returns on March 27 with major cast changes as one beloved character has left Shipton Abbott

Beyond Paradise’s leading man, Kris Marshall, has revealed details about a co-star’s departure from the BBC drama. The Death in Paradise spin-off returns on March 27, with Humphrey and his colleagues tackling fresh mysteries in Shipton Abbott. Yet one familiar face will be conspicuously absent from the fourth series.

Detective Humphrey Goodman confronts a devastating choice in the forthcoming episodes after learning he must dismiss a member of staff from the station. The DI also encounters a new superior following news that his former boss, CS Charlie Woods (played by Jade Harrison), had transferred to a different division.

Discussing his co-star’s departure and the necessity of releasing a team member, Kris told Reach PLC exclusively: “I mean, there always has to be some kind of challenge for Humphrey in terms of, because, like I said, you know, otherwise he just wanders around.

“I mean, it’s that paradox, isn’t it, about TV detectives, they’re sort of fish out of water, they don’t really like rules, and yet they exist in one of the most sort of institutional, authoritarian hierarchies, the police force.

“He hates any kind of authority, he hates rules, he hates being told what he has to do, and so it’s thrust upon him, and it literally comes knocking on his door as it does. You know, he really detests that, really dislikes it, and he doesn’t like the pressure.”

When discussing his new superior and recent arrival, portrayed by Vincent Franklin, the Humphrey Goodman star continued, “And it’s held by the fact that, in terms of the storyline, you know, Vincent Franklin, who is just an absolute genius actor playing his sort of nemesis in this,” reports the Express.

“It just adds to that sort of, and he does it with such beautiful greasiness. It’s sort of wonderful. It sort of adds to the pressure for Humphrey, and so it’s a real stress for Humphrey moving forward because he is a kind of, like, bury your head in the sand kind of guy, when it comes to things like that.

“Solving puzzles or crimes or, you know, he’s like a dog with a bone. But, you know, when it comes to sort of real life, he’s like, well, surely if I put my head over here, that will just go away.”

Sally Bretton, who portrays Martha Lloyd, Kris’s on-screen spouse, also revealed details about Martha and Humphrey’s relationship and where the series resumes. The actress explained that residing on a boat was never part of Martha and Humphrey’s original vision.

She revealed, “Martha starts reflecting on, ‘Was this a bit of an unexpected twist anyway? Going to live on the boat as it wasn’t really the plan originally’.

“And maybe now that they’re married and they want to focus a lot on settling a little bit more, and maybe it’s time to start having a look at a house, and I think they want to focus on each other and have all of the fun and everything that they always have done, but they’ve been knocked off center a lot.”

Beyond Paradise is set to return on 27 March at 8pm on BBC One.