Midsomer Murders star Neil Dudgeon has addressed speculation surrounding his tenure as DCI John Barnaby amidst swirling exit rumours.

During an appearance on This Morning with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Dudgeon was immediately grilled about whether the upcoming 23rd series would be his swansong.

Alison pressed him, asking: “I think the question on everybody’s lips is this the end of DCI Barnaby? “.

Initially puzzled by the query, Neil responded: “Why?” As Alison highlighted rumours of his potential departure, Neil expressed surprise, saying: “Somebody knows something I don’t,” and “Somebody is trying to get rid of me.”

The conversation turned to a public vote where fans chose their favourite Midsomer Murders episode, which did not feature Neil. “You lost out,” said Alison, clarifying her reason for probing into his future on the show, reports the Mirror.

Humorously, Neil quipped: “Does this mean I am getting the elbow? And this is how I find out.”

Cutting through the confusion, Neil assured viewers, “As far as I know, I am still here. We are shooting again next year, and the last I heard, I am in it, but I haven’t read the script yet, so I don’t know.”

Reflecting on his lengthy stint with the detective series, Neil explained what drew him back year after year: “If you’re going to make TV shows, it is just great.”

He enthusiastically discussed the quality of the guest stars and the narratives, sharing: “You’re talking about the wonderful guests that we have in, the amazing stories that our writers come up with. I think things like, you know, you say drag queens and dominoes, and you don’t think, ‘Oh, maybe that is Line of Duty,’ that is comedy, and we do the most interesting things.”

“We film in all the most beautiful places, we have those wonderful guests. So why would I move on?”

“That’s very ‘true’,” Alison agreed, prompting Neil to quip, “Unless somebody pushes me out.”

Sunday night’s finale is set to be spectacular. Lead detective Neil Dudgeon, Nick Hendrix, Fiona Dolman, and Annette Badland will light up the screen, and Ace Bhatti, Suzanne Packer, Nigel Lindsay, and LJ Johnson will make special appearances.

The episode concludes the 23rd series with much excitement already building abroad for series 24, as series 25 has received the green light.

In this final episode of the season, entitled ‘Dressed to Kill,’ the locals of Elverton-Cum-Latterly are caught up in a deadly clash of cultures that aligns an enduring dominoes competition with a flamboyant drag queen fundraiser for a terminally ill teenager.

Midsomer Murders returns on Sunday at 8pm on ITV.