Case file · Series 12, Episode 5 · Season 12, Episode 5
Small Mercies
A man is found bound like Gulliver in a model village, beginning a case about families distorted by secrecy and scale.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The miniature setting produces an unforgettable opening image and a neat visual metaphor for people arranging other lives.
- Best for
- Model village · Gulliver tableau · Family links
- 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 miniature setting produces an unforgettable opening image and a neat visual metaphor for people arranging other lives.
Model maker Bob Moss begins his morning inspection of the Little Worthy attraction and discovers Richard Tanner stabbed and tied down among the tiny buildings like Gulliver. Elderly owners Harriet and Hilary Compton preside over a village already closing for the season.
Further deaths lead Barnaby and Jones through the attraction's staff, local families and relationships hidden across generations. The model village is both a crime scene and a carefully controlled version of a community whose real connections refuse to stay miniature.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in Small Mercies? (spoiler)
The Gulliver display reflects a killer attempting to control a family narrative. Barnaby uncovers concealed parentage and the generational link binding the victims together.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Little Worthy 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 5
- Written by
- Peter J. Hammond
- Directed by
- Peter Smith
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 20 September 2009 28 October 2009
- Reported filming period
- November–December 2008
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Little Worthy
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.
Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 4 mapped areas; 4 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits10 episodes credited to Peter J. Hammond
- Director credits22 episodes directed by Peter Smith
- Release positionCase 71 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Model village · Gulliver tableau
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Olivia Colman appears as Bernice, one of the residents drawn into the Little Worthy inquiry.
The Manor House in Little Missenden represents the home of the sisters who own the model village.
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
Small Mercies cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Olivia Colman
Bernice is a resident of the miniature-model village whose apparent gentleness contrasts with the adult conflicts around it. Colman's appearance came during her rise from acclaimed comedy work to major dramatic roles.
Open actor profile →Jane Wymark
Kirsty Dillon
Caroline Blakiston
Ian Targett
Sanchia McCormack
Abigail Thaw
Michelle Butterly
David Ryall
Emma Stansfield
Jamie Treacher
Matilda Sturridge
Margaret Tyzack
Paul Bentall
Jesse Birdsall
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
- Richard Tanner
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Richard Tanner: Jamie Treacher
- Christa Palfrey
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Christa Palfrey: Matilda Sturridge
- Harriet Compton
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- Harriet Compton: Margaret Tyzack
- Mary (former Guardian of Bernice)
Accidental, natural or other · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Mary (former Guardian of Bernice): not listed in the current published cast recordNo Mary or former guardian of Bernice performer appears in the current published cast record. Bernice is a separately named character, so no identity is inferred.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in Small Mercies? (spoiler)
BerniceBernice killed Richard Tanner, Christa Palfrey and Harriet Compton while treating Little Worthy's residents as figures in her miniature village. Robert ‘Bob’ Moss falsely tried to take responsibility for Harriet's death to protect his daughter; Bernice's implication about her former guardian Mary is retained as an earlier suspicious death rather than upgraded to a verified murder.
Verified motive
Bernice treated the model village and its figures as a real world whose order she had to defend. She killed Harriet after Harriet smashed the flowers on its graves, Christa after she stole models, and Richard because she saw his behaviour there as disrespectful and abusive; the episode leaves Mary's earlier suspicious death unverified.
Verified important clue
Archive case 71 · checked 16 September 2026The burial ground for discarded miniature figuresThe carefully tended graves show that the model village's people are treated as real rather than as replaceable toys; connecting that private world to Bob's adult daughter Bernice explains the staged bodies and the logic behind the three murders without upgrading Mary's earlier suspicious death.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 71 · checked 17 September 2026The burial ground for discarded miniature figuresThe carefully tended graves show that Bernice treats Little Worthy's model people as real rather than replaceable toys. Connecting that private world to Bob's adult daughter explains the three staged bodies and defeats his protective false confession, while Mary's earlier suspicious death remains unverified.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 71 · checked 16 September 2026- deathRichard Tanner is killed
Bernice stabs Richard and arranges his body among the model figures after judging his conduct in the village disrespectful and abusive.
- discoveryThe model-village staging becomes the pattern
Richard's carefully posed body and the restored miniature scene show that the killer is treating residents as figures in a controlled world.
- deathChrista Palfrey is killed
Bernice kills Christa after the girl steals figures from the model village, another breach of the order Bernice believes she must protect.
- deathHarriet Compton is killed
Harriet becomes the third victim after smashing flowers placed on the miniature graves.
- discoveryBob Moss makes a false confession
Bob tries to accept responsibility for Harriet's death to protect Bernice, his daughter, rather than because he committed the murders.
- discoveryBernice's miniature world exposes the sequence
The figures and staged scenes identify Bernice's logic; her implication about former guardian Mary remains an earlier suspicious death, not a verified fourth murder.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was Small Mercies filmed?
The White Hart Hotel
Used as: The exterior appears as Little Worthy's hotel.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.The Pigeons Tea Room
Used as: The building becomes the Butterball Tea Room.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
The Manor House
Used as: The house represents the Compton family home.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Village shop
Used as: A shopfront supplies the model village gift shop.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
Beaconsfield
Filming guide for Beaconsfield.
Open location →Dorchester-on-Thames
Filming guide for Dorchester-on-Thames.
Open location →Little Missenden
Filming guide for Little Missenden.
Open location →Wallingford
Filming guide for Wallingford.
Open location →