Vernon Oxe is the minor antagonist in the television series Lewis, which served the spin-off of Inspector Morse TV series. He was a manager of the rock band the Midnight Addiction which fell apart when the lead singer Esme Ford committed suicide in the early seventies. Thrity-five years later, Vernon hatched a plan to reform the band in order to make himself substantially richer.
He was portrayed by Simon Callow.
History[]
In the sixties, Vernon was the manager of the famous rock band the Midnight Addiction. When the lead singer Esme Ford committed suicide in the early seventies, the band fell apart.
Thirty-five years later, Vernon tracked down Esme's younger sister Maureen, a former singer herself whose career and life were ruined after her sister left her to join The Midnight Addiction, in order to manipulate her into agreeing to impersonate Esme, pretending that she faked the suicide all those years ago, to convince the band to get back together claiming to want to do it all again once more before it is too late. Training Maureen, he gathered the remaining band members at the farm estate belonging to the Addiction’s drummer and frontman Richie McGuire, only to find out that Lucas Emerton, Maureen’s previously unknown fifteen year old grandson, started looking for her. Because his entire plan relies on Maureen believing that she has nothing in her life, Vernon initially pretended that Maureen isn't there to make him go away, but Lucas followed him to the barn, making Vernon run him down by a car several times and hide his body in the forest.
Checking into the Randolph hotel, Vernon arranged a meeting with Dr Samantha Wheeler, an Oxford music professor, whom he long hired to edit and reconstruct the music of the bands he managed, including the Midnight Addiction. After finding out that Bone, Esme's boyfriend and the band’s former roadie started suspecting something after sex with Maureen, he lured Bone into a pub for a few drinks, waiting until Bohe went into the bathroom before sneaking in and injecting him with heroin to kill him, before disguising it as an overdose. Vernon then returns to the hotel, where Dr. Wheeler, who compared the isolated vocals of Maureen and Esme and found the truth, contacted Vernon and warned about it, thinking that he's being conned. In order to silence her, Oxe strangled her to death with a lute string, partially slicing her neck open as she died.
Meeting with Lewis and Hathaway whilst he was having dinner, Vernon tells them how The Addiction was his, he created them and they are still his, and anyone who dares to disagree shot get out of the way. Later, after meeting up with the others, he went for a walk with Franco, the band's base player and his former one-night stand, where he was informed by Franco that he knew that Maureen wasn't Esme, but wanted to hear him out first and only then make decisions. Vernon tricked Franco to drink a drugged substance from his hip flask and pushed him into Richie's macerator sadistically mocking him. Inspector Lewis and sergeant Hathaway arrive in time to save Franco and arrest Vernon, but before they could do the latter, Richie, who overheard the truth, shot Vernon dead.
Personality[]
Vernon is arrogant and self-centered man who considers the Midnight Addiction to be his property as he created the band and treats it as a tool designed to give him money and popularity and he isn't willing to listen to the band members' opinions on any subject. He also looks down upon virtually everyone around him, as he considers himself to be a better sort of person because he's rich. To achieve his goals, Vernon is willing to do anything, including murdering people.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Inspector Morse Accomplices Non-Culprits Lewis Endeavour Culprits Non-Culprits | ||