Breaking the Chain 

Cyclist Greg Eddon is murdered after winning the local leg of a national race, beating team mate Mitch McCordell at the last minute.

Director:

Rob Evans

Writers:

Chris Murray (screenplay), Caroline Graham (based on characters by)

Stars:

Neil Dudgeon, Gwilym Lee, Fiona Dolman

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Neil Dudgeon	...	DCI John Barnaby
Gwilym Lee	...	DS Charlie Nelson
Fiona Dolman	...	Sarah Barnaby
Manjinder Virk	...	Dr. Kam Karimore
Edward Akrout	...	Damien Lamerat
Sophia Di Martino	...	Amber Layard
Hari Dhillon	...	Reece Dexter
Rebecca Grant	...	Joanna Stockerton
Richard Graham	...	Gerry Bleacher
Ben Lamb	...	Aiden McCordell
Joe McGann	...	Jez Oliver
Derek Riddell	...	Des McCordell
Tom York	...	Mitch McCordell
Tessa Peake-Jones	...	Mary Appleton
Jack Staddon	...	Greg Eddon

Storyline

Cyclist Greg Eddon is killed after winning the local leg of a national race, beating team mate Mitch McCordell at the last minute. Mitch's father Des, who owns the DJM racing stable tells Barnaby the race is make or break for them but there are clearly factions as Mitch's brother Aiden had sent threatening texts to Greg after he was seen kissing Aiden's girlfriend Amber. Local environmentalist Gerry Bleacher opposes the races, claiming that people die because of them and organizer and pub landlady Mary Appleton receives messages accusing her of murder. Des admits that DJM's sponsorship depends on Mitch's continuing success as the company is cash strapped whilst Reece Dexter, who runs rival team Ravondale, accuses Des of corruption and persuades Aiden to cycle for his stable. Another murder follows before Barnaby is able to save a further victim and identify who, in the cycling world, was guilty of literally breaking the chain.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Graham plays Gerry Bleacher in this episode. He previously played the role of Stanley Goodfellow in episode 11.7, Midsomer Murders: Talking to the Dead (2008).

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Goofs

Barnaby tells someone that a recorded confession cannot be used because it constitutes entrapment, but this is not what entrapment means. Entrapment occurs when a law official encourages someone to break the law, not when they secretly record a confession. It is true that secret recordings by legal officials are also frowned upon in some (but by no means all) jurisdictions, but in this case the recorder was not a legal official, so the recording would most likely have been admissible.

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Soundtracks

Midsomer Murders
(Theme Song)
Written by Jim Parker

User Reviews

Utter Bore

Looks like show runners are trying to attract a younger audience. As a result, this is not the series it was back in the days of Tom Barnaby. It's not as attractive, the characters aren't as interesting, and the plots are dull. There's no mental challenge for viewers anymore.

There's too much padding. The old series took its time building characters. It delved into motivation. But this year's episodes don't do that, so lots of unnecessary scenes have been added. The pace is faster and goes nowhere. Sub plots have no purpose.

The opening montage of the bicycle race was too long. I could go on, but why bother? If this poor writing and direction continues, the series will be canceled in a year or two.

We started watching Season/Series 18 three nights ago, and each night, the show has gotten worse.

A sad turn of events for longtime fans.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 2016 (UK)

Filming Locations:

St Mary's Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions, ITV - Independent Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color