Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple will both make new appearances on the British television network ITV in 2012. Actors David Suchet and Julia McKenzie will return in the starring roles.
According to a Nov. 13, 2011 press release, ITV, which began broadcasting the Poirot stories in 1989, plans to film the remaining five titles next year. Labours of Hercules, Dead Man’s Folly, The Big Four, Elephants Can Remember and Curtain will be co-productions of ITV, Agatha Christie Ltd. and the U.S. network WGBH.
For David Suchet, the news means that he will get his often expressed wish to play the role of Christie’s Belgian detective in televised adaptations of all the Poirot works. Suchet has starred in 65 Poirot films during the past 22 years.
"I’m more than delighted to be reprising my role as Poirot. It’s been my life’s ambition to bring this amazing canon of works to completion on ITV," said Suchet. "Poirot is a brilliant, yet profoundly complicated character and I’ve always loved playing him."
Mathew Prichard, who is both Chairman of Agatha Christie Limited and Agatha Christie’s grandson, also expressed his pleasure in the new ITV project. "It is tremendous to renew our partnership with ITV and David Suchet as Poirot, and these five films will be a magnificent climax to over 20 years of David’s portrayal of Hercule Poirot," he stated.
In a separate announcement, ITV revealed that three new films derived from Christie’s tales of spinster sleuth Jane Marple are also in the 2012 production pipeline. Actress Julia McKenzie will return to the role of Jane Marple in A Caribbean Mystery, Endless Night and The Seven Dials Mystery.
"It’s a huge privilege for me to play Miss Marple," McKenzie stated. "I love her shrewd intelligence, and yet she has a warmth and a sweetness that is so disarming. I find it stimulating watching how her insights into human nature can unlock big complex mysteries. I’m delighted to be back."
Since many of the ITV productions also appear later in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Network, American viewers too may be able to enjoy these new episodes. ITV’s announcement is clearly good news for many.
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