According to imdb, actress Mary Jo Randle was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England. Randle plays Janet Pennyman in season VIII, Episode 1: “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” In this episode, the murder of undertaker Patrick Pennyman, Janet's husband, takes Barnaby and Scott to the pretty village of Fletcher’s Cross, where a spiritualist church provides comfort – and causes outrage. When a friend of Joyce’s (Barnaby's wife) is killed, the detectives must find if there’s a link between the funeral parlour and revelations from the spirit world.

Here are some fun fact about and quotes from Mary Jo Randle.

Randle used her nurse’s training to help her portray undertaker’s wife Janet Pennyman in Midsomer Murders.

“Janet has to deal with the A-Z of emotions – she sees great pain and tragedy in her everyday dealings. It’s a bit like being the wife of a vicar or GP, as she comes across life at its most raw. Her response has to be tempered with tact and discretion and great sympathy and she has to suppress an enormous amount."

“People who deal with death like surgeons have a gallows humour. It’s a vital mechanism to get through and maintain their ability to do their job. Janet is like that and it makes her ability to laugh and her passion for life all the more acute. In a position like that you are so aware of the brevity of life. Her zest for life-enhancing experiences is heightened.”

Mary Jo also has experience of living in a village like the fictitious Fletcher’s Cross in Midsomer Murders.

“I’ve lived in the same village near Leicester for 20 years. It’s grown over the years but it’s not too dissimilar to a Midsomer Murders village, although there are no murders. You don’t have anonymity so I understand how Janet has to be extremely self-controlled and resilient to gossip mongers.”

Mary Jo returned to acting after leaving nursing training early.

“I did two years and two months of a three year course. I thought of it as a career addition and I didn’t take the decision lightly to leave. I spent a long time coming to terms with walking out. But it gave me a lot of insight. Nothing is wasted.

Mary Jo’s other credits include the role of Bernie in The Lakes; Laverne in Cutting It; Cambridge Spies, Gifted, Between The Sheets, A Time To Dance and Between The Lines.