BBC Inks Deal for Seven New Agatha Christie Dramas

LONDON: BBC One and Agatha Christie Productions have struck a deal that will see seven new adaptations of the legendary author’s works being produced over the next four years.

Agatha Christie Ltd’s production arm will begin by working with Mammoth Screen on the first of these adaptations. The first of the novels to be adapted is Ordeal By Innocence. Other titles confirmed so far include Death Comes as the End, a 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.

Following the success of And Then There Were None for BBC One, Agatha Christie Productions and Mammoth Screen will begin working with Sarah Phelps as she continues her connection with Christie by adapting Ordeal By Innocence. Further writers will be announced in due course.

Charlotte Moore, the director of BBC Content, said: “These new commissions continue BBC One’s special relationship as the home of Agatha Christie in the U.K. Our combined creative ambition to reinvent Christie’s novels for a modern audience promises to bring event television of the highest quality to a new generation enjoyed by fans old and new.”

Hilary Strong, the CEO of Agatha Christie Ltd, added: “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.”