Case file · Series 10, Episode 4 · Season 10, Episode 4
The Axeman Cometh
A veteran rock band reunites at the Midsomer Rocks festival before its singer is electrocuted in front of the crowd.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Suzi Quatro fronts an affectionate rock-industry mystery with a spectacular public opening murder.
- Best for
- Rock festival · Band reunion · Stage electrocution
- 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
Suzi Quatro fronts an affectionate rock-industry mystery with a spectacular public opening murder.
Midsomer Rocks welcomes the re-formed Hired Gun, a band whose friendships have not aged as gracefully as its back catalogue. Singer Mimi Clifton is electrocuted on stage, turning a nostalgia booking into a murder inquiry witnessed by an entire festival crowd.
As other members are targeted, Barnaby and Jones reconstruct the band's original break-up, the disappearance of guitarist Ginger Foxton and the commercial interests surrounding the reunion. Jones also encounters medical examiner Simon Dixon for the first time.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in The Axeman Cometh? (spoiler)
The attacks are rooted in the band's unresolved history and in what really happened to the missing Ginger Foxton. The highly visible stage death disguises a plan driven by much older loyalties.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Badger's Drift 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 10
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Michael Aitkens
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 2 February 2007
- Reported filming period
- August–September 2006
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Badger's Drift
- 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; 2 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits9 episodes credited to Michael Aitkens
- Director credits23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 55 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Rock festival · Band reunion
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
Long Crendon Manor appears as the home called Badger's Hall; a neighbouring property supplies the Harcourt family home.
Chesham Market Square and a local pub provide the festival-town exteriors.
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
The Axeman Cometh cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Mike Read
Roger Chapman
Geno Washington
Jane Wymark
Laura Howard
Sam Hazeldine
James Cosmo
Rupert Vansittart
Phil Davis
Fiona Button
Suzi Quatro
Tilly Blackwood
David Horovitch
Robin Weaver
Bryan Matheson
Annie Lambert
Philip Madoc
Rachel Davies
Ford Kenyon
Steve Simpson
Michael Angelis
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
- Mimi Clifton
Murder · Electrocution
Performer check- Mimi Clifton: Suzi Quatro
- Nicky Harding
Murder · Poisoning
Performer check- Nicky Harding: Michael Angelis
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in The Axeman Cometh? (spoiler)
Jack ‘Axeman’ McKinleyJack McKinley electrocuted Mimi Clifton and poisoned Nicky Harding in revenge for the damage done to his family, and was preparing a fatal overdose for Gary Cooper. Ginger Foxton died in the old quarry crash; James Hobson concealed his brother's body but did not kill him.
Verified motive
Jack killed Mimi and Nicky and prepared to kill Gary in revenge for the harm they had done to Ingrid—abandoning her and drawing her into drugs—and for the damage that trauma caused his family.
Verified important clue
Archive case 55 · checked 16 September 2026Ingrid Petersen's old file and Jack McKinley's hospital visitThe archived photograph identifies Ingrid among the band's former groupies, and surveillance shows Jack visiting her as the father of her child; that concealed family link connects the targets and explains the revenge that the Ginger Foxton theory obscured.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 55 · checked 17 September 2026Ingrid Petersen's old file and Jack McKinley's hospital visitThe archived photograph identifies Ingrid among the band's former groupies, and surveillance shows Jack visiting her as the father of her child. That concealed family link connects his revenge targets and exposes Jack's two murders and interrupted overdose without assigning Ginger's earlier crash to him.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 55 · checked 16 September 2026- deathGinger Foxton dies in the quarry crash
The earlier crash kills Ginger; his brother James Hobson later conceals the body but did not cause the death.
- deathMimi Clifton is electrocuted
Jack McKinley begins his revenge sequence by killing Mimi for the damage done to Ingrid and their family.
- deathNicky Harding is poisoned
Jack kills Nicky as the revenge moves through the members of the old band circle.
- discoveryGinger's remains and James's concealment are separated
The old quarry evidence explains James's secrecy without recasting him as Ginger's killer.
- discoveryIngrid and Phoebe connect the targets
The family history reveals why Jack blamed Mimi, Nicky and Gary for Ingrid's abandonment and decline.
- discoveryGary's fatal overdose is interrupted
Jack is identified while preparing the final overdose, leaving Gary alive and the two completed murders distinct from the historical crash.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was The Axeman Cometh filmed?
Long Crendon Manor
Used as: The property returns under the fictional identity Badger's Hall.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Market Square
Used as: The square supplies the town exteriors around the Midsomer Rocks festival.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas