Case file · Series 12, Episode 3 · Season 12, Episode 3
Secrets and Spies
A former agent is killed at a country house for retired spies, reviving a Cold War operation and the legend of a village beast.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The case opens a rare window onto Tom Barnaby's own intelligence-service past without turning Midsomer into a conventional spy thriller.
- Best for
- Cold War · Former spies · Village beast
- 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
The case opens a rare window onto Tom Barnaby's own intelligence-service past without turning Midsomer into a conventional spy thriller.
Former secret agent Geoffrey Larkin is found with savage facial wounds while staying at Allenby House, a safe residence run by the Frazer family for retired spies. Local talk blames the Beast of Midsomer, but the victim's career points towards more human enemies.
A museum break-in, a cricket match and resistance from MI6 take Barnaby back to an operation in Cold War Berlin. Jones and Gail Stephens work the village evidence while Barnaby confronts colleagues who would prefer the old record to remain classified.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in Secrets and Spies? (spoiler)
The beast imagery disguises a reckoning rooted in a Berlin operation. Barnaby reconstructs who was betrayed, then forces the present killer out from behind official secrecy.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Midsomer Parva 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 12
- Episode number
- Episode 3
- Written by
- Michael Aitkens
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 7 July 2009 5 August 2009
- Reported filming period
- August–September 2008
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Parva
- 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; 6 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits9 episodes credited to Michael Aitkens
- Director credits23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 69 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Cold War · Former spies
- Location evidence6 exact screen-use matches
The story confirms that Tom Barnaby previously performed intelligence work, giving him a personal connection to the retired agents.
Kirsty Dillon's Gail Stephens becomes a detective constable in this episode.
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
Secrets and Spies cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Peter Davison
Davison plays Nicky Frazer in Secrets and Spies, an episode that reaches into an intelligence-service past. He returned much later as Archie Pollock in Lawn of the Dead, a different Midsomer character.
Open actor profile →Jane Wymark
Alice Krige
Neil Stuke
Clive Russell
Anna Massey
Tom Rooke
John Bowe
Benjamin Whitrow
Timothy Carlton
Tim Treloar
Jack Walker
Clive Wood
Josef Lindsay
Stephanie Jacob
Claudia Elmhirst
Rosalind Drury
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
2 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
- Geoffrey Larkin
Murder · Stabbing or impalement · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Geoffrey Larkin: Clive Wood
- Nicky Frazer
Murder · Stabbing or impalement · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Nicky Frazer: Peter DavisonThe list of deaths prints ‘Nicky Fraser’; the published cast record supports ‘Nicky Frazer’, used here.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in Secrets and Spies? (spoiler)
Jenny FrazerJenny killed Geoffrey Larkin and her husband Nicky Frazer after learning that Nicky and Sir Malcolm Frazer had betrayed the Cold War escape operation and concealed Jimmy Wells's survival. Her later attempt to cremate Sir Malcolm alive was interrupted, so he is not added as a third victim.
Verified motive
Jenny took revenge after the Wolfman file revealed that Nicky and Malcolm had betrayed the Berlin escape operation, lied that Jimmy was dead and left her in a life she described as frustration and compromise. She killed Geoffrey because he knew the file's contents, and expected that removing Nicky and Malcolm would leave her Allenby House and a future with Jimmy.
Verified important clue
Archive case 69 · checked 16 September 2026The Wolfman file on the Berlin escapeThe secret record shows that Nicky and Malcolm betrayed the operation and framed Jimmy Wells for the leak, giving Geoffrey dangerous knowledge and exposing the decades-old deception behind Jenny's revenge on the two men.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 69 · checked 17 September 2026The Wolfman file on the Berlin escapeThe secret record proves that Nicky and Malcolm betrayed the operation, framed Jimmy Wells and concealed his survival. Geoffrey's knowledge of that file explains his murder and exposes Jenny's revenge against Nicky and Malcolm, while Malcolm's interrupted cremation remains an attempted third killing.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 69 · checked 16 September 2026- discoveryThe Wolfman file reopens the Berlin betrayal
The secret record reveals that Nicky and Malcolm betrayed the escape operation and lied to Jenny that Jimmy Wells had died.
- deathGeoffrey Larkin is killed
Jenny kills Geoffrey because he has found and understood the file that exposes the old operation.
- discoveryJimmy's survival overturns the old account
Jenny learns that her former lover is alive and that the men she trusted shaped her later life through deception.
- deathNicky Frazer is killed
Jenny takes revenge on her husband for the betrayal and for sustaining the lie about Jimmy.
- discoveryThe security system points to Jenny
Her control of Allenby House's cameras and practical systems explains how the killings were arranged and concealed.
- discoveryMalcolm's cremation is prevented
Police rescue Sir Malcolm from the coffin, leaving Jenny with two completed murders and one interrupted third attack.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was Secrets and Spies filmed?
The Reading Room
Used as: The exterior becomes Causton Museum.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Dorney Court
Used as: The Tudor house represents Allenby House, refuge for former spies.
The White Horse
Used as: The pub becomes The Allenby Arms and its garden shed becomes Seth's Shack.
Kensal Green Cemetery
Used as: The cemetery supplies the opening and Cold War flashback scenes set in East Berlin.
Thame Museum
Used as: The museum interior is used for Causton Museum.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Wormsley Estate Cricket Ground
Used as: The ground and pavilion host the Midsomer Parva cricket match.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas