John Nettles

John Nettles has been a familiar face on British and International television screens for over thirty years From his early beginnings in the UK hit comedy The Liver Birds 1969 he became a household name overnight playing the Jersey detective Jim Bergerac The series Bergerac 1981 was a huge hit in Britain and was exported to many countries across the world including France Spain and Greece gaining him thousands of fans His new found fame as Bergerac gave him almost filmstarlike fame and fortune not to mention thousands of female admirers Despite Bergerac 1981 being mothballed in the early 1990s the series still has a considerable fan base and lingering popularity abroad especially in Jersey where images of John Nettles are still used for advertising tourist attractions and other services on the island Nettles polished Shakesperean performances have won him critical acclaim and many consider him to rival fellow British stalwarts of theatre such as Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen Oddly enough however he has never really ventured onto the big screen and has seemed happy to stick to stage and television throughout his successful career Most recently he has enjoying continued success playing the straightforward DCI Tom Barnaby in ITVs Midsomer Murders 1997 He is on record as wanting to create a TV detective without any of the usual tics and consequently Tom Barnaby is a happy family man who just happens to live in the most murderous part of an otherwise stereotypically idyllic English countryside