Case file · Series 7, Episode 1 · Season 7, Episode 1
The Green Man
The collapse of a canal tunnel uncovers human remains and disturbs the solitary life of a local woodsman.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
A melancholy mystery and Gavin Troy's final regular case.
- Best for
- Canal · Buried past · Troy farewell
- Mood
- Dark
- 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
A melancholy mystery and Gavin Troy's final regular case.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in The Green Man? (spoiler)
A decades-old death and a new campaign of intimidation converge around the tunnel and its vulnerable witness.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Three spoiler-safe questions for your rewatch.
- Place
What does Midsomer Worthy 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 7
- Episode number
- Episode 1
- Written by
- Michael Russell
- Directed by
- Sarah Hellings
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 2 November 2003
- Reported filming period
- May–June 2003
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Worthy
- Casebook tone
- Dark
Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.
Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 0 mapped areas; 1 exact site.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits5 episodes credited to Michael Russell
- Director credits13 episodes directed by Sarah Hellings
- Release positionCase 29 of 144
- Story characterDark · Canal · Buried past
- Location evidence1 exact screen-use match
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 Green Man cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Henry Cavill
Simon Mayfield is a young villager connected to the tensions surrounding woodland, development and the return of a troubled local man. It is an early screen appearance from Cavill, made before his international leading roles.
Open actor profile →
David Bradley
Tom is a solitary man associated with the woods and the old local stories surrounding them. Bradley gives the role a guarded humanity that keeps the character from becoming merely an eccentric clue.
Open actor profile →Jane Wymark
Laura Howard
Paul Thornley
Cherie Lunghi
Tim Woodward
Jamie Thomas King
Andrew Dunn
Marc Buchner
Nicola King
Terence Beesley
John Carlisle
Fred Pearson
Sally Mates
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
4 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
- Eric Edwards (historical)
Murder · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Eric Edwards: not listed in the current published cast recordNo Eric Edwards performer appears in the current published cast record.
- Simon Mayfield
Murder · Gunshot
Performer check- Simon Mayfield: Henry Cavill
- Steven Curtis
Murder · Gunshot
Performer check- Steven Curtis: Jamie Thomas KingThe list of deaths prints ‘Stephen’; the published cast record supports ‘Steven’, used here.
- Lillian Webster
Murder · Gunshot
Performer check- Lillian Webster: Cherie Lunghi
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in The Green Man? (spoiler)
Tom · Daniel WebsterThe older account attributes Eric Edwards's 1965 death to his son Tom, who struck him with an axe while Eric was attacking Tom's mother. In the present case Daniel killed Simon Mayfield, Steven Curtis and his mother Lillian Webster; Timothy Webster's confession was false and intended to protect his son.
Verified motive
Tom killed Eric while Eric was violently attacking Tom's mother. Daniel killed Simon and Steven after discovering their affairs with Lillian and believing they were laughing at him, then killed Lillian to end the humiliation and behaviour he could not bear.
Verified important clue
Archive case 29 · checked 16 September 2026The missing victims' mobile-phone recordsSimon and Steven arranged secret meetings by text, but their phones vanished; the call records lead back to the affairs with Lillian and disprove Timothy's protective confession because he named the wrong phone.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 29 · checked 17 September 2026The untraceable phone that disproves Timothy's confessionThe victims arranged their meetings by text, but Timothy identifies the wrong handset when he confesses: the dates came from an untraceable phone rather than Lillian's. That mismatch exposes his account as protection for Daniel and redirects the present-day murders to Daniel, while Tom's 1965 killing remains separate.
Verified red herring
Archive case 29 · checked 17 September 2026Timothy Webster's confession to the three present murdersTimothy's jealousy over Lillian's affairs gives the confession an immediate domestic motive and appears to close the deaths of Simon, Steven and Lillian. Phone records and the untraceable messages place the plan elsewhere: Timothy confessed to protect Daniel, whose humiliation and anger drove all three killings.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 29 · checked 16 September 2026- deathEric Edwards is killed in 1965
Tom strikes his violent father with an axe while Eric is attacking Tom's mother.
- discoveryEric is found in the tunnel wall
The concealed remains and false letter from Australia expose the decades-old death.
- deathSimon Mayfield is shot
Daniel Webster kills Simon after discovering Simon's affair with Daniel's mother.
- discoverySimon is found in the woods
The rifle killing first directs suspicion towards Tom and the boys' harassment of him.
- deathSteven Curtis is killed
Daniel kills Steven after learning that he too was involved with Lillian.
- discoveryA second boy is linked to the same secret
Steven's death and the later phone evidence connect both boys to Lillian.
- deathLillian Webster is killed
Daniel kills his mother to end the affairs and humiliation he cannot bear.
- discoveryTimothy's confession is disproved
The phone records and resolution identify Daniel while preserving Timothy's confession as an effort to protect his son.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was The Green Man filmed?
Sapperton Canal Tunnel
Used as: The disused canal tunnel becomes the Midsomer Canal tunnel uncovered during the restoration project.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
No real filming place is confirmed for this case.