‘I wanted to branch out’ says Midsomer Murders star as he opens up about exit from hit ITV show
An actor who was with the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders left after six years in the show.
Actor Daniel Casey, who played DS Gavin Troy, was a fan favourite for Midsomer Murders and joined the show from its first episode in 1997.
DS Troy starred in the show until the seventh season as DCI Tom Barnaby’s sidekick, before he was promoted within the force to Detective Inspector and moved on to Middlesbrough in 2003.
Gavin made a brief return during season 11 for the wedding of Tom’s daughter Cully Barnaby, as portrayed by Laura Howard, but has otherwise been absent from the series – much to fan’s dismay.
Defending his reason for leaving the programme, actor Daniel Casey explained that he wanted to explore other roles.
Speaking to Saga magazine, he explained: “I was just aware I didn’t want to stay with the same thing for too long and I wanted to branch out.”
Following his exit from Midsomer Murders, Casey went on to star in roles on shows like Hex, The Bill, Marchlands, Doctors, Law & Order: UK, Casualty, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
He also made an appearance in 2017 in EastEnders as a love interest for Michelle Fowler, but the character became obsessive and protective older sister Sharon Dean had to step in.
Whilst Casey is no longer a part of the ITV crime series, it still has fans tuning in for the bizarre and unique events in the countryside town.
Midsomer Murders is currently in its 23rd season, and star Neil Dudgeon has hit out at ITV bosses and begged for them to make a huge change to the show.
Neil, who became the show’s lead in 2010, has claimed that the broadcaster is letting fans down by only airing a few episodes at a time and filling gaps with repeat episodes.
DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and his partner DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) currently star in the series, but Neil has made it clear he disagrees with the decision to only share a handful of episodes.
Neil shared: “Some years ago, ITV decided to schedule single episodes, or just two episodes from a series, so that Midsomer could take on rival shows on the other side.
“I think this is a shame. For an audience with any programme, they like to know when their show is going to be on, say, for the next four weeks. But they stopped doing this some time ago.
“They started dotting them against whatever’s on the BBC, for instance. It’s been brilliant because we’ve kept our audience, and the audience is very loyal, and they love the show.
Crime dramas on ITVX
Crime drama buffs have a wide selection of choices on ITVX - here is a selection of some of the programmes available to binge.
- Professor T: Based on a Belgian TV series of the same name, former Death in Paradise lead Ben Miller plays the title character. Professor Jasper Tempest is a criminologist with OCD who helps the police solve crimes. The cast also includes Emma Naomi, Barney White and Andy Gathergood.
- The Beast Must Die: This series follows a mother’s grief for her son, who was killed in an accident. Nicholas Blake’s novel of the same name has been adapted for the programme. Stars include Cush Jumbo, Jared Harris, Billy Howle and Geraldine James.
- Red Eye: Starring Richard Armitage, Jing Lusi and Lesley Sharp star in this six-part thriller, which mostly takes place during an all-night flight between London and Beijing. With dead bodies piling up and a mystery to unravel, the heroes must work fast to get to the truth.
- The Twelve: This Australian drama originally aired as a miniseries in 2022, with the episodes dropping in the UK in February 2023. Four months later, the show was renewed for a second season. Jurassic Park star Sam Neill stars in the leading role of barrister Brett Colby.
- Manhunt: Martin Clunes stars in this drama based on true murder investigations. Series one focused on the death of Amélie Delagrange, which took place in 2004, while the second depicted the search for serial rapist Delroy Grant.
“But it would be nice if it went out as a series again, but we’ve got two [new episodes] this time.”
Midsomer Murders is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.