Happy Families: Business tycoon Sir John Balcombe is found murdered at his country house, Balcombe Castle, with no signs of a break-in. As a result, the dead man’s wife and sons come under suspicion. Morse finds that the family is strangely untroubled, and several of his prime suspects have flawed characters and dark secrets – and then the Balcombe family suffers another killing. Meanwhile, Morse has to cope with journalists who try to turn his own personality into a story – and he also suffers from an unhelpful Chief Superintendant, covering for the station’s usual boss, who puts pressure on him to crack the case in a hurry. In the end, though, Morse is vindicated and his various tormentors get their comeuppance.
Cast: John Thaw (Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse), Kevin Whately (Detective Sergeant Lewis), Anna Massey, Gwen Taylor, Alun Armstrong, Rupert Graves, Charlotte Coleman, Andrew Ray, Martin Clunes, Jonathan Coy, Jamie Foreman, Ralph Nossek, Richard Ireson, Jan Van Hool, Dorian MacDonald, Beryl Kip, John Styles, Colin Dexter,
Writer: Daniel Boyle / Director: Adrian Shergold
Original Airdate: 11 Mar 1992 on ITV
Series: Inspector Morse Season 6 Episode 2