Performer file
John Sessions
Yes — John Sessions played Barrett Filby in Painted in Blood (Series 6, 2003).
In Midsomer Murders
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.
Performer biography
John Sessions was a Scottish actor, comedian and impressionist. He became a familiar television presence through Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Spitting Image and Stella Street.
Alongside improvisation and satire he worked in films, period dramas, radio and theatre. His range of voices and character work made him a distinctive supporting performer across British entertainment.
Career background ↗John Sessions’s Midsomer roles
John Sessions plays Barrett Filby in Painted in Blood, the Series 6 investigation involving a suspicious death and amateur painting. The credit belongs to that case’s guest community, not to a recurring member of Barnaby’s police team. The existing profile places the role alongside Sessions’s wider comic and dramatic work, while the source below identifies the particular character he played in Midsomer. Barrett Filby belongs to the episode’s guest cast rather than the continuing detective partnership.
The Casebook’s rewatch suggestion is to begin with the art-centred premise and notice how the people in that circle are introduced. This approach leaves the crime’s explanation in the sealed solution rather than assuming that recognition of a familiar performer tells you who matters most. The episode link provides the rest of the cast, the series position and the real filming places. Keep Barrett Filby’s name beside Painted in Blood when searching: it gives a more precise result than the actor’s name alone and avoids confusing this part with a role in another programme. The career section and the Midsomer credit answer those separate questions.
The cases in context
Painted in Blood
John Sessions as Barrett Filby · Series 6, Episode 3 (2003).
Joyce finds a body during a watercolour class, but an intelligence operation and missing robbery proceeds complicate Barnaby's inquiry.
DCI Tom Barnaby investigates with DS Gavin Troy. Filming places for Painted in Blood →
Published episode credits
1 sourced episode as Barrett Filby.