This is a truly great early entry, we get some marvellous characters, a great plot, and a lot of fun from poor Barnaby himself.
The tone of the mystery is light, and littered with humour, up to a point, we get a real twist in the end, which is loaded with malice and spite, a very serious, dark conclusion, a total contrast to the majority of the episode.
The storytelling is terrific, with so much going on, so many clever twists and turns. I felt that in the early episodes they managed to create some bold, memorable characters, I particularly enjoyed Phyllida Law's slightly scatty and flirtatious Felicity Dinsdale, Kevin McNally and Honeysuckle Weeks also give memorable performances.
The snooty shop assistant, is worth noting, a young Francis Lee, who would eventually write God's Own Country.
Whenever I watch this episode I always ask, whatever happened to the Sara Lee Gateaux, stocked in almost every supermarket, then suddenly gone!
Bullies never win in the end. 8/10