Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon has spoken about the challenges of stepping into John Nettles' shoes as DCI Barnaby on the ITV drama series14:21, 26 Jun 2026TM: Neil Dudgeon says he isn't leaving Midsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon, who portrays DCI John Barnaby, has admitted that taking over from John Nettles in the ITV series proved a "hard" challenge.‌He assumed the role from John during the programme's 14th series and recently opened up about his anxiety over being "cancelled" following his debut series.‌"It was hard at the beginning because John [Nettles] had done it for 14 years," Neil disclosed to Radio Times magazine in a previous interview.‌"If they'd cancelled me after one series, that would have been embarrassing! It gets easier, but I try to keep it fresh. Even if I've gone through the script 50 times, I'll look at it again and have another thought."He added: "It's still extremely pleasant and I'm extremely grateful."‌This isn't the first time Neil has spoken about being replaced as the lead detective. Whilst he has no immediate intentions to exit the ITV drama, Neil previously spoke exclusively to Reach PLC regarding his tenure on the programme.When questioned whether he'd wish to maintain the part for "as long as possible," Neil stated, "I think so, I mean I wouldn't want to do it to the point where it's embarrassing, and he's just too old. I just take it a year at a time."When they first came to me, I was asked, 'How do you feel if John leaves Midsomer Murders?' and I said, 'It would be fantastic, and I'd love to'," Neil recounted when approached about assuming the position.‌"I started off thinking, 'I'll do the first episode and see how it is, ' and then they might think, 'Oh, we made a terrible mistake, or he's awful'."Neil said he was thrilled when ITV recommissioned the long-running series, which is filmed in Oxfordshire. He added, "At the end of the first series, they recommissioned it, and I thought it was great because that sort of vindicates that people had faith in me to give me the job in the first place."Article continues below"So that was great to have the first recommission and do a second series. When I first started, somebody said to me, 'I think everybody would be happy if you did another three years or so,' and 15 years later, I am still doing it. So, I think everyone is pleased that it is still going, but I always take it a year at a time, and at the end of every series, I think, 'Are there going to be more?'"Sooner or later, somebody is going to say there can't be any more stories in Midsomer, but we keep coming up with them, and people seem to like it."Midsomer Murders is available to watch on ITVX.