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The Worst Episodes of Midsomer Murders

Every episode of Midsomer Murders ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Midsomer Murders!

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The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Midsomer Murders Season 23 Episode 4 - Dressed to Kill
    6.0/10(987 votes)

    #1 - Dressed to Kill

    S23:E4

    The residents of the village of Elverton-Cum-Latterly gather for the annual domino tournament. This year, the tournament has interim competition from a drag queen event to benefit charity. This creates friction - and soon one of the domino players is found dead. But who was behind it? It's up to Barnaby to find the answer.

    Directors:Paul Gibson, Leon Lopez
    Writer:Maria Ward

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  2. Midsomer Murders Season 13 Episode 3 - Blood on the Saddle
    6.3/10(1072 votes)

    #2 - Blood on the Saddle

    S13:E3

    Ford Florey is a town with a Wild West Society and many grudges. During a Wild West show at the local fayre, the witch on the 'Dunk the Witch' stall is well and truly dunked. Laughter turns to horror when she doesn't get up and the water in the tank starts to turn red. Barnaby and Jones need to be quick on the draw to track down the murderer.

    Director:Richard Holthouse
    Writer:David Harsent

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  3. Midsomer Murders Season 14 Episode 6 - The Night of the Stag
    6.4/10(960 votes)

    #3 - The Night of the Stag

    S14:E6

    A tax inspector goes missing as he tries to track down the maker of an illicit, potent cider popular among the residents of Midsomer Abbas. Barnaby and Jones have a murder investigation on their hands when the man's body is found floating in a vat at the village's spring fair, where the duo are sampling the local brew

    Director:Simon Langton
    Writer:Nicholas Martin

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  4. Midsomer Murders Season 22 Episode 6 - The Witches of Angel's Rise
    6.5/10(662 votes)

    #4 - The Witches of Angel's Rise

    S22:E6

    Each year, the village of Angel's Rise hosts the Psychic Fayre. Founded by the Saint-Stephens family in memory of their late daughter, the event attracts mediums, psychics, and followers of the occult. When a body is found surrounded by ritual symbols on the eve of the festival, Barnaby must step into the spiritual world to find the killer.

    Director:Gill Wilkinson
    Writer:Maria Ward

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  5. Midsomer Murders Season 22 Episode 1 - The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy
    6.6/10(948 votes)

    #5 - The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy

    S22:E1

    After a local photographer wins an urban myth competition with his creation of The Wolf Hunter, it unexpectedly gains a cult following.

    Director:Matt Carter
    Writer:Chris Murray

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  6. Midsomer Murders Season 18 Episode 3 - Breaking the Chain
    6.7/10(838 votes)

    #6 - Breaking the Chain

    S18:E3

    An international cycling competition goes through the village of Burwood Mantle and after the race leader is murdered, DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson find themselves involved in a competitive world of blackmail, bribery and bloodshed where winning matters at any cost.

    Director:Rob Evans
    Writer:Chris Murray

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of Midsomer Murders

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  7. Midsomer Murders Season 23 Episode 1 - The Blacktrees Prophecy
    6.9/10(746 votes)

    #7 - The Blacktrees Prophecy

    S23:E1

    When a doomsdayer is found murdered in his bombproof shelter, a dark conspiracy is revealed - how far people will go to escape the end of the world?

    Director:Roberto Bangura
    Writer:Jeff Povey

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  8. Midsomer Murders Season 23 Episode 3 - A Grain of Truth
    6.9/10(614 votes)

    #8 - A Grain of Truth

    S23:E3

    Tom and Chrissie Larkton are baking superstars. They run a bakery from an old water mill, but rumor has it that they are looking to expand, and that is not popular in the area. Is that why someone is apparently trying to poison Chrissie?

    Director:Paul Gibson
    Writer:Julia Gilbert

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  9. Midsomer Murders Season 8 Episode 5 - Bantling Boy
    7.0/10(1108 votes)

    #9 - Bantling Boy

    S8:E5

    DCI Tom Barnaby and Sgt Dan Scott investigate the murders of a horse-racing syndicate.

    Director:Sarah Hellings
    Writer:Steve Trafford

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  10. Midsomer Murders Season 11 Episode 5 - The Magician's Nephew
    7.0/10(932 votes)

    #10 - The Magician's Nephew

    S11:E5

    Jean Wildacre dies suspiciously during a performance as assistant to local magician Aloysius Wilmington, and Barnaby & Jones are called in. They have to investigate the relationships of Midsomer's Magic Circle, a group of old friends whose activities spun off a new cult, and led to long-running animosities. Soon they are looking for colorful South American poison-dart frogs, as the death count rises

    Director:Richard Holthouse
    Writer:Michael Russell

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  11. Midsomer Murders Season 15 Episode 3 - Written in the Stars
    7.0/10(847 votes)

    #11 - Written in the Stars

    S15:E3

    As darkness covers Midsomer Stanton during a total eclipse of the sun, amateur astronomer Jeremy Harper is killed by blow to the head with a meteorite. Barnaby and Jones are called in to investigate, and the duo discover that intrigue, sexual tension and academic rivalry are rife among the local stargazing community. Murder mystery, guest starring Maureen Lipman and Kenny Ireland, with Neil Dudgeon and Jason Hughes

    Director:Renny Rye
    Writer:Steve Trafford

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  12. Midsomer Murders Season 20 Episode 6 - Send in the Clowns
    7.0/10(718 votes)

    #12 - Send in the Clowns

    S20:E6

    Things take a gruesome turn when Ferabbees Circus comes to town, bringing with it a chain of sinister clown sightings, threatening notes and deathly dangerous circus acts. Barnaby will have to face up to his fears in order to solve the case.

    Director:Nicholas Laughland
    Writer:Julia Gilbert

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  13. Midsomer Murders Season 24 Episode 2 - Book of the Dead
    7.0/10(554 votes)

    #13 - Book of the Dead

    S24:E2

    Barnaby must crack the clues to find the killer of a writer who sparked a nationwide treasure hunt.

    Director:Gill Wilkinson
    Writer:Jeff Povey

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  14. Midsomer Murders Season 4 Episode 4 - Who Killed Cock Robin?
    7.1/10(1172 votes)

    #14 - Who Killed Cock Robin?

    S4:E4

    Dr Burgess, on his way home from a party at the glamorous Francesca Ward's riding school, knocks a stranger down in the road at Newton Magna, and the stranger mysteriously vanishes. Barnaby identifies the missing man as Sean O'Connell, a disgraced Irish vet, then he recognizes the village's new squire as Melvyn Stockard, a retired villain. A body found in a well proves to be the father of the man Stockard's daughter is about to marry... everyone knows he was against the marriage, but is Stockard a killer, and where does the missing Irishman fit in?

    Director:David Tucker
    Writer:Jeremy Paul

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  15. Midsomer Murders Season 19 Episode 5 - Death by Persuasion
    7.1/10(861 votes)

    #15 - Death by Persuasion

    S19:E5

    A young journalist, seemingly interested in the village's healthcare drone delivery program, is murdered when she slips away from a Jane Austen event dressed in period attire. Barnaby has to look back in time to find answers.

    Director:Alex Pillai
    Writer:Chris Murray

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  16. Midsomer Murders Season 21 Episode 1 - The Point of Balance
    7.1/10(836 votes)

    #16 - The Point of Balance

    S21:E1

    When a former ballroom-dance champion is found dead with tulle stuffed in her mouth after the opening gala of the Paramount Dance Extravaganza, Barnaby and Winter go toe-to-toe with rival dancers, jealous partners, and suspicious corporate sponsors. Meanwhile, Barnaby contends with a visit from his estranged father.

    Director:Audrey Cooke
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Midsomer Murders Season 21 Episode 3 - The Sting of Death
    7.1/10(744 votes)

    #17 - The Sting of Death

    S21:E3

    Barnaby and Winter are called to the stately home of a master beekeeper after he is injured attempting to apprehend a thief. The village of Granville Norton is abuzz with news of the missing bees, and suspicions fly when one of the locals is stung to death.

    Director:Matt Carter
    Writer:Julia Gilbert

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  18. Midsomer Murders Season 4 Episode 3 - Electric Vendetta
    7.2/10(1281 votes)

    #18 - Electric Vendetta

    S4:E3

    A man's naked body is found in a crop circle, then another dead man electrocuted at the wheel of his vehicle, and then yet another dead man in another crop circle. Barnaby is not impressed by rumours of extra-terrestrial killings, and is sure he is dealing with a human murderer. Before he can solve the mystery, he has to fathom a forty-year-old rivalry in love, the vengeance of the loser, and the defences of the winner.

    Director:Peter Smith
    Writer:Terry Hodgkinson

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  19. Midsomer Murders Season 7 Episode 6 - The Straw Woman
    7.2/10(1163 votes)

    #19 - The Straw Woman

    S7:E6

    When a traditional festival is revived at Midsomer Parva, it goes disastrously wrong, with the curate (or assistant priest) being burnt alive inside a straw effigy of a woman. Local property owner Alan Clifford holds a party at the Manor House, and it seems he has secrets... And then, just after finding a pig's head on the altar of the parish church, the dead curate's gay lover, the Reverend Jim Hale, dies too, seemingly of 'spontaneous combustion' - that is, he bursts into flames without any normal explanation. Barnaby refuses to believe in rumours of witchcraft and is vindicated when it proves that Hale's clothes had been sprinkled with phosphorus. Then, with Barnaby hot on the killer's trail, Liz Francis is knocked out with a candlestick and becomes the third villager to be burnt alive.

    Director:Sarah Hellings
    Writer:Jeff Dodds

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  20. Midsomer Murders Season 9 Episode 5 - Four Funerals and a Wedding
    7.2/10(1053 votes)

    #20 - Four Funerals and a Wedding

    S9:E5

    Barnaby's mother-in-law comes to visit, and insists on being taken to the village of Broughton, which has seen a war between the sexes for decades. During this year's traditional fair, elderly women's campaigner Mildred Danvers is murdered. And then the misogynist vicar, the Rev Anthony Gant, is murdered during a bizarre traditional event that forms part of the proceedings. Is this an evening of the score, or is another long-standing feud responsible?

    Director:Sarah Hellings
    Writer:Elizabeth-Anne Wheal

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  21. Midsomer Murders Season 11 Episode 6 - Days of Misrule
    7.2/10(886 votes)

    #21 - Days of Misrule

    S11:E6

    It is Christmas and DCI Barnaby deals with an explosion and some killings near a freight company, at the same time as trying to deal with his acting CS who has very strong beliefs about teamwork.

    Director:Renny Rye
    Writer:Elizabeth-Anne Wheal

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  22. Midsomer Murders Season 13 Episode 6 - The Noble Art
    7.2/10(918 votes)

    #22 - The Noble Art

    S13:E6

    Local boxer John Kinsella's successful world title bid stirs up hidden passions among the residents of Midsomer Morchard. As plans to stage a celebratory re-enactment of a Victorian prizefight shape up, jealousy, betrayal and blackmail take a ringside seat, while two suspicious deaths suggest Barnaby has let friendship cloud his judgement. Detective drama, guest starring Phil Daniels (formerly EastEnders' Kevin Wicks)

    Director:Richard Holthouse
    Writer:Barry Purchese

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  23. Midsomer Murders Season 18 Episode 2 - The Incident at Cooper Hill
    7.2/10(851 votes)

    #23 - The Incident at Cooper Hill

    S18:E2

    Forest ranger Felicity Ford is blinded by mysterious lights while driving at night in the village of Cooper Hill and the next morning her car is found abandoned at the roadside, followed closely by the discovery of her body. Visiting UFO spotters in the village are convinced aliens are responsible, but as Barnaby and Nelson try to get to the truth, they unearth suspicions, betrayals and long-buried secrets along the way.

    Director:Renny Rye
    Writer:Paul Logue

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  24. Midsomer Murders Season 18 Episode 5 - Saints and Sinners
    7.2/10(797 votes)

    #24 - Saints and Sinners

    S18:E5

    A Saint's bones are discovered during an archaeological dig, causing a stir in the village of Midsomer Cicely. However, when the dig's leader is murdered, DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson are presented with a complex investigation as they hunt for the perpetrator.

    Director:Renny Rye
    Writer:Lisa Holdsworth

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  25. Midsomer Murders Season 19 Episode 4 - Red in Tooth & Claw
    7.2/10(809 votes)

    #25 - Red in Tooth & Claw

    S19:E4

    At the annual Bellville Hall Small Pet Show, a local estate agent is found stabbed to death amid a herd of escaped rabbits. Could the killer have been an animal-rights activist, or was he or she after one of the prize-winning pets?

    Director:Steve Hughes
    Writer:Lisa Holdsworth

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Dressed to Kill" is the worst rated episode of "Midsomer Murders". It scored 6/10 based on 987 votes. Directed by Paul Gibson, Leon Lopez and written by Maria Ward, it aired on 11/10/2024. This episode scored 0.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Blood on the Saddle".