Midsomer Murders' Neil Dudgeon admits 'somebody is trying to get rid of me' as he confirms future

Neil Dudgeon spoke all things Midsomer Murders with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary on Friday's This Morning.

Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon appeared to confirm his future as DCI John Barnaby following rumours that he was leaving the show.

As soon as he sat down with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary on Friday's This Morning, Neil was quizzed on whether series 23 was his last.

Alison probed: "I think the question on everybody's lips is this the end of DCI Barnaby?"

"Why?" a baffled Neil asked as Alison went on: "There have been rumours that this could be the end."

"Somebody knows something I don't," the actor replied. "Somebody is trying to get rid of me."

The ITV presenter went on to point out that Midsomer Murder fans had to vote for their favourite episode, and Neil wasn't in it.

"You lost out," Alison continued. "That is the reason I am asking."

Neil joked: "Does this mean I am getting the elbow? And this is how I find out."

Setting the record straight, he confirmed: "As far as I know, I am still here. We are shooting again next year, and the last I heard, I am in it, but I haven't read the script yet, so I don't know."

When asked what has kept him on the show for 14 years, the John Barnaby star admitted: "If you're going to make TV shows, it is just great.

"You're talking about the wonderful guests that we have in, the amazing stories that our writers come up with. I think things like, you know, you say drag queens and dominoes, and you don't think, 'Oh, maybe that is Line of Duty,' that is comedy, and we do the most interesting things.

"We film in all the most beautiful places, we have those wonderful guests. So why would I move on?"

"That's very true," Alison agreed which led Neil to joke: "Unless somebody pushes me out."

The much-anticipated finale, airing on Sunday night, will see lead detective Neil Dudgeon, Nick Hendrix, Fiona Dolman, and Annette Badland, along with special appearances from Ace Bhatti, Suzanne Packer, Nigel Lindsay, and LJ Johnson.

This final episode marks the end of the 23rd series, while series 24 is already causing a stir overseas, and series 25 has been confirmed.

The storyline for the episode, titled 'Dressed to Kill' reads: "Residents of Elverton-Cum-Latterly engage in a dominoes competition that has been a tradition for decades, but when the event coincides with a drag queen fundraiser for a terminally ill teenager, the resulting culture clash is both monumental and fatal."

Midsomer Murders returns on Sunday at 8pm on ITV.