BBC One strikes Christie drama deal over four years

BBC One is to air seven new adaptations of Agatha Christie’s novels in a production deal with Agatha Christie Productions LTD.

The  seven productions will air on BBC One over the next four years. The first of the novels to be adapted is Ordeal By Innocence; other titles so far confirmed include Death Comes As The End, a groundbreaking murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt; and The ABC Murders, a race against time to stop a serial killer who is operating across 1930s Britain.

Mammoth Screen and writer Sarah Phelps will once again reunite on the first of these adaptations, Ordeal By Innocence, following the critical success of And Then There Were None in December 2015, and the commission of Agatha Christie’s The Witness For The Prosecution, which is currently filming with an all-star cast including: Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough, Kim Cattrall, David Haig, Billy Howle and Monica Dolan.

Hilary Strong, Chief Executive Officer, Agatha Christie Limited, says: “And Then There Were None was a highlight of the 2015 BBC One Christmas schedule, and we are truly delighted to be building on the success of that show, first with The Witness For The Prosecution, and then with adaptations of seven more iconic Agatha Christie titles. What Sarah Phelps brought to And Then There Were None was a new way of interpreting Christie for a modern audience, and Agatha Christie Ltd is thrilled to be bringing this psychologically rich, visceral and contemporary sensibility to more classic Christie titles for a new generation of fans.”

Further writers and castings will be announced in due course for the other adaptations.