Daniel Casey stars in Midsomer Murders at Darlington Hippodrome

There’s a particular kind of homecoming that never quite leaves you, no matter how far you travel.

For actor Daniel Casey, stepping onto the stage at Darlington Hippodrome later this month will be exactly that – a return not just to the North East, but to the places and memories that shaped him.

“It’s coming home – home is always home, no matter where you are,” he says. “It’s going to be very, very emotional. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Casey, best known to millions as Sergeant Gavin Troy in the long-running television favourite Midsomer Murders, is back in that world once again – but this time at its centre.

He takes on the role of Inspector Tom Barnaby in the stage adaptation of The Killings at Badger’s Drift, which arrives in Darlington towards the end of a successful UK tour.

Daniel Casey as Inspector Barnaby, bringing the classic TV sleuth to life on stage at Darlington Hippodrome (Image: MANUEL HARLAN)

Yet for all the intrigue, eccentric villagers and dark secrets of Midsomer, it is Teesside – and nearby Darlington – that remains closest to his heart.

He speaks warmly of his North East roots, having grown up in Stockton, and of his affection for Darlington – a place he visited often in his younger years.

“I can’t wait to go back,” he says, adding that he is relishing the chance to return to and perform at its much-loved theatre, the Hippodrome.

His memories spill out in vivid snapshots of family trips to the town, visits to the indoor market with his mother, and the thrill of childhood milestones.

“I remember when the Dolphin Centre swimming pool opened and standing on the middle diving board, daring myself to dive off it,” he recalls.

Daniel Casey is set for an emotional return as he brings Midsomer Murders to Darlington (Image: MANUEL HARLAN)

Then there are the family journeys to Darlington railway station.

“There were five children in a Toyota caravette. I’d be in there half asleep, in a sleeping bag, driving along the back lane through Sadberge. We’d get to the station to pick my dad up from London, just excited to see him.”

His father, Luke Casey, was a respected North East broadcaster who often worked away from home and who began his career as a junior reporter at The Northern Echo.

“He did his first month as a junior reporter in his school uniform, until he could afford to buy a suit,” Casey says.

Although journalism ran in the family – his sister Siobhan also became a highly respected broadcaster – it was never quite his path.

“If you told a careers adviser you wanted to be an actor, you were told how difficult it would be,” he says. “So I used to say I wanted to be a journalist.”

In truth, the stage had already claimed him. But his family were firmly behind his decision to pursue acting – something he remembers in a moment that has stayed with him.

“Dad’s local pub was The Blue Bell in Bishopton,” says Casey.

“I was in there once when I was just starting out, and he was chatting to one of his mates who asked him, ‘do you worry about him going into acting?’

“And dad just said, ‘No, I’ve seen him’.

“I overheard him saying that. There’s nothing better than that – what a seal of approval.”

Casey adds: “He was always massively supportive, and mum was too. He used to say ‘you can do anything you want in life as long as you work hard enough’.”

From the Dovecote Arts Centre to Stockton Youth Theatre, Casey’s early years were steeped in performance.

He still remembers auditioning for Bugsy Malone using a speech from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and performing in Hair at Billingham Forum as a teenager.

He recalls how a young Mark Benton – then the oldest in his peer group and on the verge of heading to RADA – became an early mentor, taking him under his wing.

That grounding would eventually lead to a long and varied career across stage and screen – from Coronation Street and EastEnders to major theatre productions – but for many, he will always be part of the Midsomer Murders story.

Now, he returns to it in a new guise.

Daniel Casey (Barnaby), James Bradwell (Troy) and Rupert Sadler (Dennis Rainbird) in The Killings at Badger’s Drift, a gripping tale of hidden secrets (Image: MANUEL HARLAN)

“It’s felt great to step into playing Barnaby,” he says. “I spent seven years next to John Nettles, so I had a really good sense of who Barnaby was.”

That connection made the transition feel natural – even if the responsibility of taking on such an iconic role was not lost on him.

“I had a lovely long chat with John about the role,” he adds. “There were things he said that made enormous sense.”

Nettles himself gave his seal of approval in the most unexpected way, by quietly turning up to a performance early in the tour.

“He came along one Friday night without telling us,” Casey says. “He took us all out for a drink afterwards and said he loved it. That meant a lot.”

The production, adapted for the stage by Guy Unsworth, brings to life the very first Midsomer Murders story, based on Caroline Graham’s novel.

It follows Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy as they investigate the death of Emily Simpson in the seemingly idyllic village of Badger’s Drift – a place where appearances quickly unravel.

For Casey, part of the show’s enduring appeal lies in that contrast.

“It’s what they call ‘cosy crime’ now,” he says. “You’ve got beautiful countryside and chocolate box houses — but these really dark, twisted things are going on underneath. It’s like a Grimm’s fairytale.”

He believes the series’ cross-generational popularity – from long-time fans to younger viewers – comes down to what is left unseen, even if the crimes themselves are “quite deviant and gruesome”.

“You don’t show the murder. People’s imaginations are more gruesome than anything you can depict,” he says. “It was designed for that Sunday evening audience.”

And while many have tried to replicate its formula, he sees Midsomer as something unique.

“I think it was a trailblazer. It exists in its own world – there’s a sort of 1950s heart to it. It’s escapism.”

Translating that world to the stage might seem a challenge, but Casey says it works.

James Bradwell, Nathalie Barclay, Daniel Casey, Chris Agha and Rupert Sadler in The Killings at Badger’s Drift (Image: MANUEL HARLAN)

“It goes at a real pace,” he says. “There are a lot of characters, and people are always surprised when we take our curtain call and see how few of us there are.”

There is also a personal symmetry in sharing the stage story with actor James Bradwell, who now plays Troy – the role Casey himself made famous.

“When he was cast, he messaged me saying he felt a real sense of responsibility,” Casey says.

“I told him, ‘don’t feel any responsibility to me — do your own thing’. That’s what John (Nettles) said to me too.”

James Bradwell (Troy) and Daniel Casey (Barnaby) as the much-loved TV mystery makes the leap to the stage (Image: MANUEL HARLAN)

For Casey, the joy of the production is simple. “I’m having a ball. It’s absolutely brilliant,” he says.

But as the tour draws towards its final stretch, it is the Darlington stop that looms largest.

“I’m just excited I’m coming home,” he says.

“I’m sure there’ll be people there I haven’t seen for ages. I love chatting to people after the show – I just can’t wait to see who turns up from times gone by.”

Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger’s Drift comes to Darlington Hippodrome from Tuesday, May 19, to Saturday, May 23. Tickets are available via darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk or by calling the box office.