Last week across the UK and Southern Oxfordshire region, there was an almost total solar eclipse. Although for most people the clouds rather got in the way and spoiled the majestic effects of this rare event, it somehow seemed very familiar.

After racking our brains for a while, it suddenly dawned on us. It was exactly like the plot of 2012’s Written in the Stars episode of Midsomer, when an astronomer is beaten to death with a meteor during a total eclipse of the sun. An astrologer then claims to have predicted every subsequent murder.

The episode stars Maureen Lipman and is one of the more unusual but equally plausible plot lines of the show. Anyway, it got us thinking about other episodes that feature natural, historical or cultural events that cross over from the fictional world to the real.

The Electric Vendetta from back in 200 centred around a series of murders occurring in a mysterious crop circle, with locals being convinced it has something to do with aliens from another planet. Of course, the story echoes the strange appearance of eerie crop circles across the UK in the 1980s and 90s. However, despite claims they were markings from another world it turned out to be a couple of cheeky chaps with some rope and a plank – and nobody was murdered in the real world thankfully.

The episode Dead in the Water centres around a regatta event, which of course s based on the famous real life even at Henley, which also happens to be in the heart of Midsomer country in Southern Oxfordshire. So the writers don’t always have to go to extra-terrestrial lengths to get their inspiration.

Can you think of any other episodes that are based on real life events? Let us know below.