Top News

Midsomer Murders star Daniel Caseyhas admitted it's "daunting" to step into John Nettles' shoes.

The actor is best known for playing DS Gavin Troy, the original sidekick of John's DCI Tom Barnaby, for the first six seasons of Midsomer Murders.

He's nowtaking over the main role for a stage production of Caroline Graham's The Killings as Badger's Drift, which was the pilot of ITV's Midsomer Murders.

READ MORE: Petrol and diesel drivers warned 'don't pay at pump' or risk losing money

READ MORE: Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in chaos as two more stars quit Channel 4 show

Appearing on BBC Breakfast today to talk about his new role, Daniel admitted it was "daunting" to step into John's shoes.

Bergerac actor John played Inspector Tom Barnaby from 1997 to 2011, with Daniel confessing: "It's quite daunting, it's amazing, it's wonderful."

"John's such a lovely man, and it was such an important part of my early career and he said it himself, 'I learnt at the feet of the master,' and actually I did," he went on.

"He was amazing and I stood next to him for seven years, so a lot of that has rubbed off I hope, and I'm really excited."

He then revealed he wouldn't be straying "a million miles" from John's original adaptation of the character, saying: "The lines are the lines and the character is the character, and Caroline Graham wrote a beautiful book and it gives you lots of character breakdown there and John used a lot of that.

"I'm not going to be deviating that far but it will be my voice, it will be me, and it will be my version."

When asked about the "difficult decision" he made to step back from his role in 2003, having said at the time that he wanted to "branch out" and "didn't want to stay with the same thing for too long", Daniel admitted it was actually "fairly easy".

Recalling the moment he knew he wanted to leave, the actor told BBC Breakfast hosts Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell: "It was a fairly easy [decision] actually."

He started starring in the role at the age of 24, and six years later, when he was 30, he was watching a rugby match and remembered the commentary of the last minute, where the presenter had said: "The only risk in life is never to take a risk."

"It felt like he was talking to me," Daniel reflected.

"I didn't come into this job to do the same thing year on year, so I thought it was time to step off the cliff and see what else is out there, and I've had an amazing time."

He added: "It's been brilliant, I think you want a varied career."

Talking about the upcoming stage production, Daniel shared: “It’s really exciting, it’s lovely to come back. I never thought that I’d revisit this amazing, weird, wonderful world again.

“It’s lovely to be embarking on a tour and bringing it to the stage.”

He insisted the stage show is "very different," adding: "But Midsomer has always had that theatricality, those characters have always been larger than life."

"It's very faithful to that original, and that theatricality you have in the television series lends itself beautifully to the stage," he went on.

BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.