Spotlight On: Jason Hughes

Date of Birth: 1971

Born: Porthcawl, South Wales, UK

Biography

Jason Hughes, best known for playing lawyer Warren Jones in the BBC TV series This Life from 1996 to 1997 (and the 2007 special), and as Detective Sergeant Ben Jones in Midsomer Murders since 2005, has become one of British Television's most recognisable faces.

As a young man he was a very good rugby player, but was persuaded to take up acting by a drama teacher at his school. He joined the National Youth Theatre as a teenager, before going on to study drama at LAMDA, where he won the Alec Clunes Award for Best Actor.

Filmography

1994: London's Burning (TV Series) played the part of Tim James in series 7, episode 3

1995: Peak Practice (TV Series) played the part of Robbo Gibbs in the episode 'Fighting Chance'

1995: The Bill (TV Series) played the part of Craig in the episode 'Unfamiliar Territory'

1995: Castles (TV Series) played the part of Simon in series 1, episode 22

1996: Wales Playhouse (TV Series) played the part of Steve in the episode 'Strangers In The Night'

1996: Casualty (TV Series) played the part of Kev

1996/97: This Life (TV Series) played the part of Warren Jones in 19 episodes

1997: Harry Enfield & Chums (TV Series) played the part of Jason in the episode Harry Enfield And His Yule Log Chums

1998: King Girl (TV Movie) played the part of Mr. Whitehead

1999: Hang The DJ (TV Series) played the part of Brad

1999: The Flint Street Nativity (TV Movie) played the part of Warren Pipe/Joseph

2000: House! (Film) played the part of Gavin

2000: Brand Spanking New Show (TV Series) played various roles

2001: Phoenix Blue (Film) played the part of Ralph

2002: Tarot Mechanic (Short) played the part of The Mechanic

2002: Shooters (Film) played the part of Charlie Franklin

2002: Killing Me Softly (Film) played the part of Jake

2002: Plain Jane (TV Movie) played the part of Harry Bruce

2002: Casualty (TV Series) played the part of Carl Williams

2003: Waking The Dead (TV Series) played the part of Andrew Cross in 2 episodes

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2004: Say Sorry (Short)

2004: Mine All Mine (TV Series) played the part of Gethin Morris in 5 episodes

2005: Red Mercury (Film) played the part of Jeff Collins

2005: Feeder (Short) played the part of Bob

2006: Dead Long Enough (Film) played the part of Ben Jones

2007: This Life + 10 (TV Movie) played the part of Warren Jones

2009: Coming Up (TV Series) played the part of Mark in the episode 'Pornography'

2011: Dante's Daemon (Film) played the part of Daniel Teal/Trench

2005-2012: Midsomers Murders (TV Series) played the part of DS Ben Jones / DC Ben Jones in 48 episodes (ongoing)

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Trivia

* When he first moved to London, Jason shared a house with fellow Welsh actor Michael Sheen.

* Jason has been married to actress Natasha Dahlberg since 2005 and the couple have three children (Molly, Max and Carys).

* Initially the character of Ben Jones in Midsomer Murders was supposed to be English born and raised, but they changed it to him being born in Wales and brought up in Midsomer.

* Jason's sister is a police officer. When he told her he was going to play one on TV, she laughed.

* Jason's grandfather was also a policeman.

* One of Jason's first acting jobs after graduation was to pretend to be a candidate for a job at the Metropolitan Police Department as part of a job interview training program. Jason was often told he'd have been hired if he'd been a real candidate.

Personal Quotes

Neil Dudgeon (John Barnaby in Midsomer Murders) said of Jason:

"The best thing about working with Jason Hughes who plays John's sidekick DS Ben Jones is... that we get on very well; it's a good relationship off screen and on. Jason's a very appealing part of working on Midsomer. He's brilliant in the part and has a lot of charm and is very funny. I hope the friendship we have off-screen shows on-screen to some extent"

Jason on John Nettles leaving Midsomer Murders:

"My initial feeling was of course disappointment that he was leaving. We have such a great relationship on and off set that naturally I don’t want to see him go. He’s the model professional and, dare I say it, one of the really good guys. However, it is John’s choice and, even though I’ll miss him, I am sure we will keep in touch.Amazingly, by the time John retires as Barnaby, I will have filmed 38 episodes with him, and 16 of these are still yet to be transmitted in the UK. That’s 76 hours of television we will have worked on together, and not a bad word has passed between us!”

Jason on the Tom Barnaby / Ben Jones relationship:

"Jones did start off very enthusiastic and consumed by his job, but he has matured. He wants to emulate Barnaby – that is ultimately what he is aiming for. Unlike the father-son relationship that Barnaby had with the previous sidekicks, he and Jones are more equal and it is a much more grown-up relationship. The trick with Jones is that he is almost but not quite as good a policeman as Barnaby. He has a proper role and I find that more interesting to play. His relationship with Barnaby has changed. He’s starting to tease Jones a bit and he’s more jocular when things go wrong. Jones is a real jobsworth who lives for work. He tends to jump ahead and make conclusions. Barnaby teases him and I like that."