Midsomer Murders ITV viewers fire angry demand over show's future as hit drama replaced

Midsomer Murders fans have been left seething with ITV, after the show returned for a new series last week, only for it to 'vanish into thin air' after just one episode, with no word on when it will be back.

One of the biggest detective shows on TV for close to three decades now, Midsomer Murders' return to screens earlier this month caused great excitement for the many viewers who've been hooked on every series to date. And, after a lengthy wait for another slice of Midsomer action, fans were rewarded with a two hour episode, reuniting Barnaby and Winters in a new mystery - The Blacktree Prophecy - which saw lead actors Neil Dudgeon and Nick Hendrix joined by a supporting cast that included guest stars Nina Wadia and Kate Robbins.

While the feature length tale, which saw Barnaby and Winters investigate the death of a man found dead in a bombproof shelter, did come under fire from some critics for being 'too far fetched' as some longed for Vera to come back, plenty of others lapped up very twist and turn, as the show became a big talking point on social media.

READ MORE: ITV Vera to end after 14 series as Brenda Blethyn confirms exit as famous detective

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Now it's being talked about for a very different reason, as the topic of Midsomer Murders' future has become as big a mystery as the storylines from its script. It was assumed that all four episodes of series 25 would air consecutively, but it then became apparent that wouldn't be the case, as Britain's Got Talent and new thriller Red Eye took over the primetime slot on Sunday, April 21.

A glance at the listings for this Sunday, April 28 shows that Midsomer Murders is still nowhere to be seen, with Who Wants to be s Millionaire and the second episode of Red Eye taking up 8-10pm on ITV1.

And disappointed MM fans are now demanding to know just when they'll get to see the rest of the series. Taking to X on Sunday night, one disgruntled viewer fumed: "Why can't @ITV just run the whole series of Midsomer Murders? I was looking forward to seeing episode 2 tonight, but nope. How complicated can it be to just schedule 4 episodes in a row?"

Equally annoyed, a second responded: "It's not on next Sunday either. Wtf is going on @ITV? Just stick it on the app if you can't be a**ed to sort out your scheduling!" and third, taking aim at Red Eye's lead actor, blasted: "Richard Armitage is a c**p actor. Midsomer Murders was shelved for this rubbish"