Top team - Neil Dudgeon, and Nick Hendrix fighting countryside crime (Image: itv) Midsomer Murders star responds to series 'change' EXCLUSIVE Neil Dudgeon, star of Midsomer Murders, wants the popular detective show to be broadcast “as a whole series” again, warning that “no show is bulletproof” and audience figures could suffer. “Some years ago,” said the much-loved actor, “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.” Midsomer Murders is currently in its 23 rd season, with two new episodes due to be broadcast in July.
He said: “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. “But it would be nice if it went out as a series again, but we’ve got two [new episodes] this time.
” Asked about viewers confusing repeat episodes with new ones, he replied: “I think that’s terrible. Because you put a new episode on, and people think, ‘Oh, a new series’. And then the following week you follow it with a repeat.
People sit there and start watching and say, ‘Hang on. I've seen this before.’ “If you keep messing with your audience, you're go.