An anthology series of ten suspenseful adaptations drawn from Agatha Christie’s lesser-known short stories.
This collection of standalone plays adapts stories from Christie’s The Listerdale Mystery, Parker Pyne Investigates, and The Mysterious Mr Quin collections. The tales vary in genre and tone, moving beyond the traditional whodunit. Some are light adventures, such as “The Girl in the Train,” in which a disinherited young man, George Rowland (Osmund Bullock), becomes entangled in a web of spies and secret plans. Others introduce Christie’s recurring characters, including the “heart specialist” Parker Pyne (Maurice Denham) in “The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife.” A few stories even touch upon the supernatural, as in “In a Glass Darkly,” where a man (Nicholas Clay) has a terrifying vision of a strangled woman in a bedroom mirror.
Produced by Thames Television, this ten-part anthology served to demonstrate Agatha Christie’s range beyond the familiar comforts of the country house murder. The series is a testament to her versatility as a storyteller, offering tales of romance, supernatural horror, and espionage alongside more conventional mysteries. By selecting works largely unknown to the wider public, the production distanced itself from definitive portrayals of Poirot or Marple, instead functioning as a collection of compact, well-made television plays. With lavish period detail and a formidable roster of guest actors, the programme was a prestige production for the ITV network, paving the way for the major Christie adaptations that would define British television in the subsequent decade.
Broadcast: ITV – Thames, 10 Episodes, 7 September – 16 November 1982
Executive Producer: John Frankau
Producer: Pat Sandys
Main Cast: Gwen Watford (Maria Packington), Nicholas Clay (Matthew Armitage), Osmund Bullock (George Rowland), John Nettles (Raoul Letardeau), Maurice Denham (Parker Pyne), William Gaunt (Major John Wilbraham), Christopher Cazenove (Jack Trent), Amanda Redman (Pauline), Cherie Lunghi (Lady Noreen Elliot)
