Case file · Series 13, Episode 3 · Season 13, Episode 3
Blood on the Saddle
A Wild West fair turns real when the performer on a dunking stall is shot amid a dispute over valuable land.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Six-shooters and frontier theatrics give an old English property quarrel a cheerfully extravagant disguise.
- Best for
- Wild West show · Land dispute · Family rivalry
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- 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
Six-shooters and frontier theatrics give an old English property quarrel a cheerfully extravagant disguise.
The Wild West Society brings staged gunfights and frontier attractions to Ford Florey. Amid the show's constant gunfire, Faye Lennox—the 'witch' on a dunking stall—is shot with a real bullet.
Barnaby and Jones investigate a contested area of land, the Burbage and Fincher families and people willing to use the fair's theatrical violence as cover. Each new incident echoes the western theme while the motive remains rooted in English inheritance.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in Blood on the Saddle? (spoiler)
The fair provides weapons, disguises and noise, but the killings protect a claim to the disputed land. Barnaby traces the family history behind that claim.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Ford Florey conceal?
- Theme
Which details could have more than one meaning?
- Teamwork
Watch DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Ben Jones: who notices what?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 13
- Episode number
- Episode 3
- Written by
- David Lawrence
- Directed by
- Richard Holthouse
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 27 July 2010 8 September 2010
- Reported filming period
- September–October 2009
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Ford Florey
- 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 credits5 episodes credited to David Lawrence
- Director credits16 episodes directed by Richard Holthouse
- Release positionCase 76 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Wild West show · Land dispute
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
The Eight Bells in Long Crendon supplies the exterior, paired with the Jolly Woodman interior.
Long Crendon also provides the optician's exterior and local parish archives.
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
Blood on the Saddle cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Jane Wymark
Kirsty Dillon
Pip Torrens
Caroline Langrishe
Richard Harrington
Daniel Ryan
Kenneth Cranham
David Rintoul
Malcolm Storry
Kika Markham
Justin Avoth
Emma Cooke
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
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · Inspector- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
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
4 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
- Faye Lennox
Murder · Gunshot
Performer check- Faye Lennox: Emma Cooke
- Jack Fincher
Murder · Animal attack
Performer check- Jack Fincher: David Rintoul
- Leo Fincher
Murder · Gunshot
Performer check- Leo Fincher: Richard Harrington
- Fergal Jenner
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Fergal Jenner: Pip Torrens
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in Blood on the Saddle? (spoiler)
Susan Fincher · Adam BurbageSusan directed Adam to kill Faye Lennox, Jack Fincher, Leo Fincher and Fergal Jenner so that she could inherit and sell the farm while maintaining carefully timed alibis. Adam carried out the shootings and stabbing through his Wild West fantasy; Leo's separate attack on Jude Langham and Susan's attempt to abandon and implicate Adam are kept distinct.
Verified motive
Susan wanted Faye, Jack and Leo removed so she would inherit the Fincher farm, sell it and leave, and she exploited Adam's Wild West fixation with a promise that they would go away together. Fergal also became a target after his blackmail threatened the scheme; Adam experienced the killings as heroic scenes while Susan directed them for gain.
Verified important clue
Archive case 76 · checked 16 September 2026The sequence of Susan Fincher's conspicuously perfect alibisSusan makes herself memorably visible whenever Faye, Jack, Leo and Fergal are killed, showing that the timings were organised for an accomplice to act; Adam's later siege exposes the physical killer and his cowboy fantasy, while Leo's attack on Jude remains a separate offence.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 76 · checked 17 September 2026The sequence of Susan Fincher's conspicuously perfect alibisSusan makes herself memorably visible whenever Faye, Jack, Leo and Fergal are killed, revealing that the timings were organised for an accomplice. Adam's later siege exposes him as the physical killer and Susan as the director, while Leo's attack on Jude remains a separate offence.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 76 · checked 16 September 2026- deathFaye Lennox is killed
Adam carries out the first killing as a Wild West scene under Susan's direction, beginning her route to the Fincher inheritance.
- deathJack Fincher is killed
Susan uses Adam again while maintaining an alibi and moving closer to control of the farm.
- discoverySusan's timed alibis conceal the direction
The practical separation between Susan and each crime scene masks her role as instigator while Adam performs the attacks.
- deathLeo Fincher is killed
Adam kills Leo for Susan; Leo's own attack on Jude Langham is a separate act rather than part of their murder plan.
- deathFergal Jenner is killed
Fergal becomes the fourth victim after his blackmail threatens Susan's scheme and promised escape.
- discoverySusan abandons the promised escape
Her attempt to leave and implicate Adam exposes the directing role, while Adam remains the physical killer shaped by the fantasy she exploited.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was Blood on the Saddle filmed?
The Eight Bells
Used as: The pub exterior became the fictional Florey Arms.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.The Jolly Woodman
Used as: The pub interior is paired with the Eight Bells exterior to create the Florey Arms.
Village house and archive
Used as: Two buildings supply Adam Burbage's optician exterior and the parish archives.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Stocker's Farm
Used as: The farm represents the Lennox family property.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas
