Midsomer Murders replaced in ITV schedules by another crime drama – despite star’s plea to bosses

ITV has announced a scheduling shake-up, much to the disappointment of Midsomer Murders fans.

The latest series of the popular murder mystery show concluded on Tuesday night.

ITV

Rex

The final episode followed the strange case of a bakery which was selling bread that turned out to be poisoned.

With the bakers pleading their innocence, DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter were left struggling to track down the person responsible for the lethal loaves.

It has now been confirmed that another ITV crime drama will fill Midsomer Murders’ slot in the TV schedule.

Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn as DCI Stanhope and Kenny Doughty as her former sidekick Aiden Healy, will be aired next Tuesday night instead.

The upcoming installment is a set to be a repeat episode that was screened earlier this year.

It sees the beloved Detective Chief Inspector called to investigate the death of a young woman whose body washed up on the banks of the River Tyne.

Her murder was a shock to the local community, as the victim was popular in her workplace, and loved by friends and family.

Vera has to untangle a web of lies and learn about secret betrayals to discover the woman’s killer.

Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon, who plays leading man DCI Barnaby, previously begged show bosses to release more than one episode of the crime drama at a time.

He warned that the crime drama is bound to lose viewers if they carry on leaving big gaps between each installment, saying that no show is bulletproof.

Neil added: “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.

“It would be nice if it went out as a series again.”

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.