Dr. Mortimer John Nettles John Nettles, a native of Cornwall, England, studied history and philosophy at Southampton University. He joined the Royal Court Theatre in London and appeared all over Britain including Southampton, the Bristol, the Old Vic and Stratford, where he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Beginning in 1981, he played Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac for ten years on the BBC's crime drama Bergerac, a role which made his a household name. Nettles was voted Radio Actor of the Year in 1982 and Variety Club of Great Britain's BBC Personality of the Year in 1985. He played the lead role in the hugely popular ITV detective drama Midsomer Murders and now lives outside Stratford-upon-Avon with his second wife, Cathryn Sealey.