The surname of George and Agnes was spelled Gillian in the credits but was pronounced Gillan, with a hard G, as if the second "I" wasn't present.
The accent George is discussing in his lecture is known as Scouse, which is specific to Liverpool.
Since the murderer was following the victim all morning, it's likely the disruption at the lecture hall was requested. Everything is connected.
Dodds tells McDonald that when her boyfriend came to mend his boiler, they had a chat over a cup of tea and a couple of Old Speckled Hens which he then clarifies is a local brew. Old Speckled Hen was originally brewed by Morlands of Abingdon, Oxfordshire which, in British brewing terms, is half across the country. Since 2000 when Greene King acquired Morlands, it's been brewed in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk which is pretty much on the other side of the country from Bath.