Midsomer Murders is the latest — and perhaps the least expected — TV show to cast a hunky male star. In this case, the eye candy in the bucolic yet murder-prone village is Nick Hendrix.
The 31-year-old plays DS Jamie Winter, new sidekick to veteran character DCI John Barnaby, played by Neil Dudgeon — and he says it is “hilarious” that he has been made the poster boy.
It taps into the “Poldark effect”, coined after a bare-chested Aidan Turner helped pull in huge audiences to the BBC’s period drama, followed by Tom Hiddleston in The Night Manager and James Norton in War And Peace.
Producers hope Hendrix will do the same for Midsomer. He said: “[It’s] hilarious. It’s extremely flattering and much better than people saying, ‘Who is this new guy?’
"It was the producers’ decision to bring in a character written as young and well-dressed. But to be mentioned anywhere near Aidan and Tom is what any actor would want.”
Hendrix — who has been dating actress Jessica Ellerby for more than four years — appears in his third episode tonight. The latest creative murder involves death by cricket balls.
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The ITV series is now 20 years old and one of the most-sold British shows, aired in more than 200 countries.
“I didn’t know it has a massive international following,” said Hendrix. “It’s huge in Scandinavia, it’s shown in Europe, the US, Australia.
"My auntie is Italian and when I told her about this role she said, ‘Oh my God — you’re in Barnaby!’ Over there it’s called L’ispettore Barnaby.
“I got her onto the set. It was one of the best days of her life.”
Midsomer Murders continues today on ITV1 at 8pm.
