KING'S CRYSTAL
First Broadcast: January 26, 2007
Alan King, co-owner of King's Crystal with his brother Charles, is killed in a car accident in Shanghai during a business trip with his brother Charles and accountant Peter Baxter. The company faces bankruptcy and the workforce, led by volatile glassblower Jack Tewson, is devastated.
Tensions are brewing throughout Midsomer Magna. Alan's son Ian shuns his mother Hilary to grieve with his close friend David Monroe; Sophie Baxter, daughter of Peter, is in love with Ian; and undertaker James Mason is in love with Sophie.
Six months later, the factory has closed and Charles weds his brother's widow Hilary. Ian is angry at the marriage and concerned by Tewson's claims that the company pension fund has been embezzled.
Peter fears an investigation into the accounts and puts his house up for sale. The next day he is found dead in the stream, with a stab wound to his chest. Meanwhile Cully is rehearsing for a production of Hamlet at the Midsomer open air theatre, refurbished thanks to Alan King's fundraising.
Barnaby discovers that an intruder broke into Peter's office the night he died and Tewson suggests the culprit could be Ian. Ian finds a sketchbook in his father's study.
The murder weapon is discovered - a Masonic dagger. Jones, a lapsed Mason, questions Charles, the Master of the Lodge, who reveals the dagger was Peter's.
Ian is behaving strangely - he makes amends with Charles, even becoming a Mason, then insults Sophie. He confides in David that he is close to the truth and David tells Barnaby he is worried for Ian's safety.
The next day, Ian is found dead, hanging from a noose similar to one used in his Masonic initiation, and Sophie is missing.
As Barnaby watches Cully in the performance of Hamlet he realises the play contains a message sent by Ian King before he died; but can he pick up the trail of clues to lead him to the killer?
|
DCI Tom Barnaby
|
John Nettles
|
| DS Ben
Jones
|
Jason Hughes
|
| Joyce
Barnaby
|
Jane Wymark
|
| Cully
Barnaby
|
Laura Howard
|
| Dr. George
Bullard
|
Barry
Jackson
|
| Jack Tewson In his late 50s, Tewson is a skilled glassblower and workforce leader at King's Crystal. After working all his life he was looking forward to a comfortable retirement, and is devastated that the company faces ruin. | Tony Haygarth
|
| Charles King A shrewd, handsome businessman and the worshipful master of Midsomer Magna's Masonic Lodge, Charles is the co-owner of King's Crystal, a glassworks factory. As the company faces financial difficulties, Charles hopes for a solution in China. | John Castle
|
| Peter Baxter The accountant at King's Crystal, Peter is a well-fed, hard-nosed, arrogant man, who's impatient with the world. He has few friends in the village, particularly among the workers at King's Crystal. | Ray Lonnen
|
| James Taylor James is a young monumental mason and undertaker who's been in love with Sophie since they were childhood sweethearts. He is a dedicated member of the Lodge. | Joseph Rye
|
| Ian King The son of Alan and Hilary King, Ian is a PhD student of botany. He's bright and sensitive and was once linked with Sophie Baxter, although he now prefers the company of his close friend David Monroe. | Sam Heughan
|
| Hilary King Hilary is a strong, attractive woman and the wife of Alan King. She has an uneasy relationship with her son, Ian, although they share a love of plants. Hilary collects and dries wild flowers as a hobby. | Susan Tracy
|
| Sophie Baxter Gentle and artistic Sophie lives with her father Peter in Midsomer Magna, although they are not particularly close. She is in love with Ian King but it is unrequited. | Flora Montgomery
|
| David Monroe David is in his 20s, and a student with Ian, who accompanies him to Midsomer Magna. He's gay but not camp and is devoted to Ian. | Tim Delap
|
| Alan King The co-owner of King's Crystal, Alan is Charles' older brother. A former drama teacher to Cully Barnaby, he loves the craft of glassblowing but leaves his brother and their accountant Peter Baxter to run the business side. | David
Firth
|
| Harold Bumstead A larger-than-life drama director who is staging the first production at the refurbished Midsomer open air theatre. | Hugh
Sachs
|
| Photographer
|
David
Henry
|
| Hamlet
|
Oliver
Ryan
|
| Pub
Landlord
|
Morris
Perry
|
| Screenplay
by
|
Steve Trafford
|
| Directed
by
|
Peter Smith
|
| Produced
by
|
Brian True-May
|
Filming took place for 'King's Crystal' in July and August of 2006, in villages Frieth, Bucks (Masonic Hall); Rotherfield Peppard, Oxon (Church) and Bledlow, Bucks (Dog and Partridge Pub).
Other pages of interest are: Filming at Rotherfield Peppard, Oxon