Midsomer Murders farewells TV pooch

TV dog Sykes has been retired from UK drama Midsomer Murders after 5 years with the show.

According to a press statement, “Barnaby’s beloved pet dog, hung up his lead and retired” after five years with the show. The 13-year-old Jack Russell cross is now being looked after by a foster family.

Executive producer Jo Wright says, “When we were filming last year’s series our dog trainer, Gill Raddings called me and said it was time to retire Sykes from Midsomer at the end of the year. We were all very sad and made sure he had a lovely last day with a present of a retirement dog bed given to him by Neil (Dudgeon) and Gwilym (Lee).”

Neil Dudgeon, who plays DCI Barnaby added, “I will miss working with Sykes for many reasons .. He is the consummate professional and like most actors will do anything for a sausage. I am happy he likes the retirement bed we bought him and that he will spend more time sleeping than working. Paddy our new boy has fitted in perfectly and filled the very large doggy shoes of Sykes.”

Originally found as a stray in 2004, Sykes even has his own Wikipedia page.

“We have a new very young dog, Paddy, this year found for us by Gill but you will have to watch in the New Year to see how the story line plays out,” said Wright.