(Photo: Getty Images)
John Nettles celebrates his 79th birthday today (October 11), so we're making him a very deserving British Icon of the Week. Here are 10 things we appreciate and find interesting about this enduringly popular actor.
1. He was the original star of Midsomer Murders.
Nettles led the first 13 seasons as DCI Tom Barnaby, a police officer investigating murders in the fictional English county of Midsomer. (The show is largely filmed in Buckinghamshire, a real-life county just northwest of London). Though Nettles left the show in 2011, he has since returned for special documentaries marking its 20th and 25th anniversaries.

2. He also starred in the classic 1980s crime series Bergerac.
Nettles led all nine seasons of this BBC series as Jim Bergerac, a police detective investigating crimes on the wealthy island of Jersey. Along the way, Nettles's character dealt with various personal issues including alcoholism, divorce, and a very badly broken leg.

3. He's also an accomplished Shakespearean actor.
Nettles performed regularly with The Royal Shakespeare Company in the early 1990s after finishing his stint on Bergerac. The productions he appeared in included The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, and Richard III. You can watch him wax lyrical about Shakespeare below.

4. He popped up in Poldark, too.
Nettles appeared in seasons two and three of the BBC/Masterpiece PBS hit as Ray Penvenen, a landowner who wasn't exactly warm and welcoming. Discussing his character with the Radio Times, Nettles said: "He’s a rather morose, ageing chappy and prone to illness, who has one wonderful line which I think defines his character. [That is] when he remarks to Demelza that he prefers cows to people, a remark that I thought that was lovely."
5. He's a published author.
Writing may be a side hustle for Nettles, but it's a surprisingly varied one. He even wrote a book about the German occupation of Jersey and its neighboring islands during World War II. You can check out some of his published works here.
6. He was honored by Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2010, Nettles received an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) award for services to drama. "I don't really deserve it," he told the BBC at the time. "People who get OBEs are people like firefighters and lifesavers - these are real-life heroes."
He also revealed that several members of the British Royal Family were Midsomer Murders fans. He said: "I'm told on good authority - back in the days of Princess Margaret - the Queen Mum and Princess Margaret used to have discussions about the pronunciation of Midsomer - I don't know the answer."
7. He's thoroughly British.
This definitely comes across in BritBox's "The Best of British Quiz," in which Nettles reveals a preference for tea over coffee and wades into the age-old debate about the best way to serve a traditional cream tea. He also speaks very sweetly about Poirot actor David Suchet.

8. He's also proud of his two home counties.
Nettles grew up in Cornwall, the beautiful county at the southwestern tip of England, and now lives in neighboring Devon. So, who better to narrate Devon and Cornwall?, Channel 4's documentary series about the region?

9. He's passionate about playing the guitar.
In the Midsomer Murders episode "The Axeman Cometh," Nettles' character investigates the murders of two musicians booked to play a rock festival in Midsomer. The script gives him a brief opportunity to show off his own guitar skills, something he told the Manchester Evening News was a "schoolboy dream come true."

10. And finally, he doesn't take himself too seriously.
In a 2021 interview with The Moorlander, Nettles said he agrees with a famous quote by the late John Gielgud: "Acting is no job for a grown-up."
"And it certainly isn’t," he added. "I'd be driving along doing Barnaby and thinking this is bloody ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, I’m chasing old women down cul-de-sacs because they'd murdered somebody. Come on!"
Are you a fan of John Nettles' work over the years?