Case file · Series 6, Episode 3 · Season 6, Episode 3
Painted in Blood
Joyce finds a body during a watercolour class, but an intelligence operation and missing robbery proceeds complicate Barnaby's inquiry.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Barnaby being formally removed from the case creates a playful contest between official secrecy and his refusal to stop noticing things.
- Best for
- Watercolour class · Undercover inquiry · Art theft
- Mood
- Classic
- 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
Barnaby being formally removed from the case creates a playful contest between official secrecy and his refusal to stop noticing things.
Joyce joins the Midsomer Florey Watercolour Society on the village green and discovers fellow painter Ruth Fairfax dead. The National Intelligence Squad quickly takes control, claiming a wider operation around the victim and people living under assumed identities.
Troy keeps Barnaby unofficially informed as the case moves from the painting group to an old armed robbery and its missing proceeds. Secret relationships and the detectives' parallel inquiries eventually reveal why Ruth's quiet village life drew national attention.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in Painted in Blood? (spoiler)
Ruth's death is tied to hidden identities and money from the earlier robbery; the intelligence operation has found the right circle but not the whole village story.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Midsomer Florey 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 3
- Written by
- Andrew Payne
- Directed by
- Sarah Hellings
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 17 January 2003
- Reported filming period
- July–August 2002
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Florey
- Casebook tone
- Classic
Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.
Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 0 mapped areas; 2 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits11 episodes credited to Andrew Payne
- Director credits13 episodes directed by Sarah Hellings
- Release positionCase 26 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Watercolour class · Undercover inquiry
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
The Lee village green becomes the gathering place of the Midsomer Florey Watercolour Society.
Part of the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden is used as a branch of The Shires Bank.
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
Painted in Blood cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
John Sessions
Sessions is credited as Barrett Filby in Painted in Blood, the Series 6 case that brings a suspicious death into the world of amateur painting. His appearance shows the programme's habit of mixing comic and dramatic performers.
Open actor profile →Jane Wymark
Nigel Lindsay
Matthew Marsh
Andrew Lancel
Leslie Phillips
Sheila Reid
Denise Black
Hilary Crane
Michael Tucek
Eamon Geoghegan
Colin Higgins
Barbara Durkin
Jean Challis
Clive Merrison
Anna Northam
David Mallinson
Dinah Stabb
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
1 person dies in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
- Ruth Fairfax, also known as Angela Browning
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Ruth Fairfax, also known as Angela Browning: Anna NorthamThe list of deaths also records the Angela Browning alias; the published cast record credits Ruth Fairfax.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in Painted in Blood? (spoiler)
DI Gudgeon (Alan Pinkney)Gudgeon, posing in the painting group as Alan Pinkney, stabbed undercover officer Ruth Fairfax—also known as Angela Browning—with Mike Wetherby's chisel after she uncovered the plan to steal the hidden robbery proceeds. Tony Carter and the corrupt officers pursued the money, but Ruth's killing is attributed to Gudgeon.
Verified motive
Gudgeon killed Ruth because her undercover investigation uncovered the corrupt officers' plan to steal the hidden £5 million robbery proceeds; she was an honest officer who would expose them.
Verified important clue
Archive case 26 · checked 16 September 2026The nylon paintbrush beneath Ruth FairfaxThe brush differs from the sable brushes used by most of the painting group, and Joyce's recollection places Alan Pinkney beside Ruth; together they expose the clue dropped by Gudgeon while using his false identity.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 26 · checked 17 September 2026Gudgeon's nylon brush beneath Ruth FairfaxThe brush beneath Ruth is nylon rather than the sable type used by the painting group, and Joyce remembers that 'Alan Pinkney' kept matching brushes behind his ears. The dropped brush therefore connects that alias to DI Gudgeon and the murder, while leaving the wider money conspiracy distinct.
Verified red herring
Archive case 26 · checked 17 September 2026Mike Wetherby's bloodied chiselThe discarded weapon belongs to Mike, carries his fingerprints and follows his angry encounter with Ruth, allowing the replacement team to charge him. Joyce's timed drawing keeps him on the Carters' ladder across the murder window; the chisel was taken to frame him while Gudgeon removed Ruth's records and body.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 26 · checked 16 September 2026- deathRuth Fairfax is stabbed
Gudgeon, posing as Alan Pinkney, kills the undercover officer with Mike Wetherby's chisel after her investigation threatens the corrupt scheme.
- discoveryJoyce finds Ruth
Ruth is discovered in the bushes beside the painting group, with the discarded chisel initially pointing towards Wetherby.
- discoveryRuth's identity is uncovered
The investigation establishes that Ruth is undercover officer Angela Browning and that Gudgeon removed her records and body.
- discoveryThe planted evidence exposes Gudgeon
A paintbrush and Joyce's view of Alan Pinkney place Gudgeon beside Ruth and separate her murder from the wider robbery plot.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was Painted in Blood filmed?
Roald Dahl Museum building
Used as: Part of the building is redressed as a branch of The Shires Bank.
The Lee village green
Used as: The green hosts the Midsomer Florey Watercolour Society's outdoor class.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
No real filming place is confirmed for this case.