News reached Past Offences this morning that the BBC will be making a new generation of Agatha Christie adaptations, starting with a Tommy and Tuppence six-part series (Partners in Crime and N or M).
The deliberately (I think) hammy David Walliams has been cast as Tommy, meaning the gritty 21st-century reboot you’ve been waiting for seems unlikely. Walliams says:
It is our ambition for Tommy and Tuppence to finally take their rightful place alongside Poirot and Marple as iconic Agatha Christie characters. They are among Christie’s very best work.’
And Then There Were None is also scheduled for a three-part showing over Christmas 2015.
The deal means that ITV is losing its virtual exclusivity on Christie adaptations, and is part of a major new push on drama at the BBC. There will also be several Christie documentaries to mark her 125th anniversary.
Past Offences: Classic crime, thrillers and mystery book reviews 
And I just bought a set of the old series to watch. I am just about to start reading the Partners in Crime book of short stories, then watch the episodes. I am sure I will enjoy those, and then later I can try this new series.
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When was the old series? I don’t think I’ve ever come across it.
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Using Wikipedia as my source since I am not at home. In 1982 there was a movie for Secret Adversary. Then a 10 part series in 1982 called Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime. The set I got has both. Starring James Warwick and Francesca Annis.
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Sorry, the 10 part series was in 1983, and I think all based on stories from Partners in Crime.
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Guess what? There’s one on this weekend (if you’re in the UK) – Sunday 6.45AM.
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I love Tommy and Tuppence – but Walliams as Tommy????? Yes, Tommy starts out as a bit of a young twit, but Walliams is *too* old and hammy in my mind. Not sure if I shall be able to watch this one…… :s
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I pretty much agree. I’m only assuming he’s Tommy, to be fair. Maybe he’s Tuppence… She is a lady…
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:)))))))))))))
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I cannot agree with ‘They are among Christie’s very best work’, and I don’t think most Christie fans would think so, but I guess the programme-makers are setting out their stall and have to make their case. I wonder who will play Tuppence? Also, I don’t think Tommy appears very much in N or M – they will have to expand his role. I’m not too keen on the sound of this, but can guarantee I will be watching, at least to begin with. I bet they’re already planning sumptuous 1920s and 30s costumes, which I guess I should approve of…
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Ah. It’s set in the 50s apparently. Presumably the BBC has a bigger wardrobe from back then 🙂
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Oh, this is really good news, Rich. I’ll be really keen to see what they do with it.
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Well, could be fun and Tommy and Tuppence would be a pretty tough sell nowadays so star casting is probably a bright move. As for the three-hour version of And Then There Were None, seems a bit long given the essentially repetitive nature of the scenario, so one suspects (sic) that there will be considerably monkeying around … Thanks Rich.
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I’m looking forward to And Then There Were None – the writer worked on Being Human, so has my vote already. I think it has more of a chance of being challenging than Tommy and Tuppence.
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Challenging? That really would be a nice turn up! Who is writing it then? Not Whithouse presumably?
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I love the T&T books so will doubtless watch the series, but with a certain amount of trepidation. Just don’t see Walliams as Tommy somehow. Have they not announced who Tuppence will be? i remember the old series very affectionately – mainly for Francesca Annis, who made a great Tuppence, but it’s a difficult series to cast because they age so much in the course of it.
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I enjoy the Tommy and Tuppence stories, and liked the previous television series. I shall try to keep an open mind about this one, but I agree the casting seems dubious.
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These actually may fly better onscreen than on the page…
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That’s very possible. Lighter content tends to translate well to TV.
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