Case file · Series 6, Episode 4 · Season 6, Episode 4
A Tale of Two Hamlets
A film promotion explodes into murder while two rival villages and one extended family compete to control their shared history.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The episode turns a centuries-old village feud into both local folklore and a profitable family entertainment business.
- Best for
- Village rivalry · Film history · Family business
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Gavin Troy
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.
Why it matters
The episode turns a centuries-old village feud into both local folklore and a profitable family entertainment business.
Actor Larry Smith enters a summer house during the launch of a sequel to his cult film The House of Satan, and the building explodes. His Upper Warden relatives immediately blame Lower Warden, whose competing claim to local history has become part of the publicity spectacle.
The director's death on an exercise bike brings the investigation inside the Smythe-Webster family and its businesses. Barnaby and Troy sift through affairs, blackmail and ownership while deciding which parts of the two villages' famous feud are history and which have been manufactured.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in A Tale of Two Hamlets? (spoiler)
The deaths protect financial and family arrangements around the film legacy; the historic village rivalry offers a dramatic cover for much more recent deception.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Upper and Lower Warden conceal?
- Theme
Which details could have more than one meaning?
- Teamwork
Watch DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy: who notices what?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 6
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Alan Plater
- Directed by
- Peter Smith
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 24 January 2003
- Reported filming period
- September–October 2002
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Upper and Lower Warden
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.
Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 2 mapped areas; 4 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits1 episode credited to Alan Plater
- Director credits22 episodes directed by Peter Smith
- Release positionCase 27 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Village rivalry · Film history
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Brill Windmill appears as museum curator Sarah Proudie's Lower Warden home.
The Eight Bells at Long Crendon becomes the pub where Danny works; Watlington supplies Lower Warden streets and the Ellis Bell Museum exterior.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗Credits follow the linked chronology. Dates can differ between territories. Consult original credits for story, teleplay and adaptation wording. External synopses may contain spoilers.
Selected episode credits
A Tale of Two Hamlets cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Anne Reid
Reid plays Sarah Proudie in A Tale of Two Hamlets, a case concerned with a feuding family and its public image. The role is part of the show's rich tradition of casting accomplished television character actors.
Open actor profile →Jane Wymark
Jonathan Hyde
Beth Goddard
Phoebe Nicholls
Jo Stone-Fewings
Tim Preece
Ronald Pickup
Leo Bill
Rebecca Johnson
Alex Lowe
Katy Murphy
Jack Chissick
Danielle Tilley
Christopher Good
Charlie Beall
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Follow the cast links for full actor and character guides.
John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief Inspector- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
Daniel Casey
Gavin Troy · Detective Sergeant · later Inspector- Our Friends in the North
- Steel River Blues
- Midsomer Murders on stage
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologist- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
Image credits identify the licence used. No programme publicity stills are reproduced.
Forensic team
Dr George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Spoiler-controlled deaths
Deaths recorded in this case
3 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
- Larry Smith
Murder · Explosion
Performer check- Larry Smith: Charlie Beall
- Frank Webster
Murder · Electrocution
Performer check- Frank Webster: Jonathan Hyde
- Danny Pinchel
Murder · Drowning
Performer check- Danny Pinchel: Jo Stone-FewingsThe list of deaths prints ‘Pinchall’; the published cast record supports ‘Pinchel’, used here.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in A Tale of Two Hamlets? (spoiler)
Philip Harrison · Danny PinchelDanny planned the explosion that killed Larry Smith and signalled Philip to trigger it. Philip later electrocuted Frank Webster when he would not pay them, then killed Danny after learning that Danny was a Smythe-Webster heir and had intended to leave Philip carrying the blame. The joint first killing and Philip's two later murders remain distinct.
Verified motive
Danny and Philip killed Larry as retaliation against the Smythe-Websters' wealth and contempt for Lower Warden, expecting Frank to pay them afterwards. Philip killed Frank when he refused payment, then killed Danny after learning Danny was an heir who intended to leave him carrying the blame.
Verified important clue
Archive case 27 · checked 16 September 2026Elsie Pinchel's diaryThe diary found on Danny records hidden parentage and shows that both Danny and Philip are Smythe-Webster heirs, exposing the family connection behind Danny's leverage and Philip's final murder while preserving their joint responsibility for Larry's death.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 27 · checked 17 September 2026Elsie Pinchel's diary on Danny's bodyThe diary records the hidden parentage that makes both Danny and Philip Smythe-Webster heirs, revealing why Philip turns on his co-conspirator. Philip's admission then separates Danny's planning and mobile signal from Philip's detonation and later killings instead of assigning every act to one offender.
Verified red herring
Archive case 27 · checked 17 September 2026Darren's explosives access and dramatic confessionDarren films the event, has a grievance over the movie job and handles explosives through the Territorial Army, then arrives saying he has come to confess. His admission concerns only the inter-village ritual of letting Barnaby's tyres down; Danny planned Larry's death and signalled Philip, who triggered the bomb and committed the later murders.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 27 · checked 16 September 2026- deathLarry Smith dies in the explosion
Danny plans the summerhouse bombing and signals Philip, who triggers the blast by remote control.
- discoveryThe summerhouse becomes a crime scene
The explosion kills Larry during the village event and immediately establishes a deliberately triggered attack.
- deathFrank Webster is electrocuted
Philip kills Frank after Frank refuses to pay for Larry's murder.
- discoveryFrank's death extends the family pattern
The second Smythe-Webster death focuses the inquiry on the villages' resentments and the promised payment.
- deathDanny Pinchel is killed
Philip kills Danny after discovering that Danny is an heir and intended to leave him carrying the blame.
- discoveryJoint and separate responsibility is resolved
The final account separates Danny's planning of Larry's death from Philip's trigger action and two later murders.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was A Tale of Two Hamlets filmed?
Brill Windmill
Used as: The windmill becomes Sarah Proudie's home in Lower Warden.
The Eight Bells
Used as: The pub represents Upper Warden's local, where Danny works.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Lewknor Primary School
Used as: The school becomes Upper Warden School and the police incident headquarters.
Foxwarren Park
Used as: The estate stands in for the Smythe-Webster family home.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas
