John Nettles is known and loved for his portrayal of DCI Tom Barnaby in Midsomer Murders, but after 14 years the ITV star handed over the reins to Neil Dudgeon. In recent years, 80-year-old John has retired from acting and when he’s not working as a historian, the father of one can be found at his idyllic country home in Devon.

© Shutterstock

John and his wife of 29 years, painter Catheryn Sealey, moved into their property – a 15th-century longhouse with a modern extension – in 2010. The couple have three rescued dogs, three rescued horses and two donkeys.

Speaking to The Telegraph in May 2024, John explained that horses had become a particular passion of his. “Sometimes I think God created horses on Monday when everything was fresh. They are the most beautiful creatures,” he said.

In a surprising twist of fate, it was actually one of the family’s donkeys that prompted John and Cathryn to move to Devon. “Hector is a delightful little guy, a rescued donkey from Galway. We had put him in the garden of our rather posh house near Stratford, but he was making a lot of noise and our neighbours were quite rightly not happy,” the actor revealed to Great British Life.

© Shutterstock

John joked that Hector “could stand on Drake’s Island and be a foghorn,” noting that his decision to officially retire also influenced his decision to move. “I couldn’t help but respond to the people around here – and they’re so talented, too,” he said of his neighbors in the village of Holsworthy.

John has truly enjoyed rural life in Devon and as a keen environmentalist, he has also worked tirelessly to protect it. In 2021, the former Midsomer Murders star made headlines after leading a campaign to prevent the construction of one of the UK’s largest solar farms.

The actor may have been unsuccessful, but his efforts were undoubtedly appreciated by the residents on whose behalf he spoke. In addition to his prominent role in the local community, John is also President of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts and was on hand to open a special exhibition at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in March 2024.

Although John’s daughter Emma Martins no longer lives with her father, she regularly visits her father and stepmother in Devon. John has Emma with his first wife Joyce Nettles, to whom he was married for 13 years. Now that Emma has had two children of her own, John has become a loving grandfather.