Jump to content

Agatha Christie's Poirot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Poirot (TV series))

Agatha Christie's Poirot
GenreCrime drama
Based onHercule Poirot stories
by Agatha Christie
Screenplay byClive Exton and others
StarringDavid Suchet
Composers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series13
No. of episodes70 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersBrian Eastman and others
Running time
  • 36 x ~50 minutes
  • 34 x ~89–102 minutes
Production companies
  • LWT (1989–2002)
  • LWT Productions (1989–1996)
  • Granada Productions (2002–2008)
  • Agatha Christie Ltd. (1989–2013)
  • ITV Productions (2008–2009)
  • ITV Studios (2009–2013)
  • WGBH Boston (2008–2013)
  • Carnival Films (1993–1994)
  • Mittal Productions (1990–2009)
  • Picture Partnership Productions (1994–1996)
Original release
NetworkITV
Release8 January 1989 (1989-01-08) –
13 November 2013 (2013-11-13)

Agatha Christie's Poirot, or simply Poirot (UK: /pwɑːr/[1]), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, which revolves around the fictional private investigator Hercule Poirot. David Suchet stars as the title character. Initially produced by LWT, the series was later produced by ITV Studios. The series also aired on VisionTV in Canada and on PBS and A&E in the US.

The programme ran for 13 series and 70 episodes in total. Each episode was adapted from a novel or short story by Christie that featured Poirot. In each episode Poirot is both the main detective in charge of the investigation of a crime (usually murder) and the protagonist at the centre of most of the episode's action. At the programme's conclusion, which finished with "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case", based on the 1975 novel of the same name,[2] every major literary work by Christie that featured the title character had been adapted.[3]

Cast

[edit]

David Suchet was cast as the eponymous Hercule Poirot. He was portrayed, especially in the earlier series, alongside Hugh Fraser as the closest friend of Poirot, Captain Arthur Hastings, as well as Pauline Moran playing Poirot's clever secretary Felicity Lemon and Philip Jackson depicting Poirot’s long-standing associate Inspector James Japp.

Towards the later series, other characters such as Poirot's English butler, George, played by David Yelland, and crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, played by Zoë Wanamaker, feature and become prominent. Several actors played multiple parts specific to certain episodes, including Nicholas Farrell and Beatie Edney.

List of main and recurring Poirot characters, with actors, by series (season)
Character Series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Hercule Poirot David Suchet
Captain Arthur Hastings Hugh Fraser Hugh Fraser
Chief Inspector James Japp Philip Jackson Philip Jackson
Miss Felicity Lemon Pauline Moran Pauline Moran Pauline Moran
Detective Inspector Jameson John Cording
Countess Vera Rossakoff Kika Markham Orla Brady
Sergeant Coombes Steve Delaney Dale Rapley
Ariadne Oliver Zoë Wanamaker
George David Yelland
Superintendent Harold Spence Richard Hope

Episodes

[edit]
SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedAve. UK viewers
(millions)
First airedLast aired
1108 January 1989 (1989-01-08)19 March 1989 (1989-03-19)TBA
297 January 1990 (1990-01-07)4 March 1990 (1990-03-04)TBA
31116 September 1990 (1990-09-16)10 March 1991 (1991-03-10)TBA
435 January 1992 (1992-01-05)19 January 1992 (1992-01-19)TBA
5817 January 1993 (1993-01-17)7 March 1993 (1993-03-07)TBA
641 January 1995 (1995-01-01)16 March 1996 (1996-03-16)TBA
722 January 2000 (2000-01-02)19 February 2000 (2000-02-19)9.12
8220 April 2001 (2001-04-20)8 July 2001 (2001-07-08)7.21
9414 December 2003 (2003-12-14)26 April 2004 (2004-04-26)7.27
10411 December 2005 (2005-12-11)2 April 2006 (2006-04-02)6.98
1141 September 2008 (2008-09-01)22 September 2008 (2008-09-22)5.18
12430 December 2009 (2009-12-30)11 July 2010 (2010-07-11)5.12
1359 June 2013 (2013-06-09)13 November 2013 (2013-11-13)5.53

Production

[edit]
Filming Poirot in London, from the episode "The Clocks" (Season 12, Episode 4)

Clive Exton in partnership with producer Brian Eastman adapted the pilot. Together, they wrote and produced the first eight series. Exton and Eastman left Poirot after 2001, when they began work on Rosemary & Thyme. Michele Buck and Damien Timmer, who both went on to form Mammoth Screen, were behind the revamping of the series.[4]

The episodes aired from series 9 in 2003 featured a radical shift in tone from the previous series. The humour of the earlier series was downplayed with each episode being presented as serious drama and saw the introduction of gritty elements not present in the Christie stories being adapted. Recurrent motifs in the additions included drug use, sex, abortion, homosexuality, and a tendency toward more visceral imagery. The visual style of later episodes was correspondingly different: particularly, an overall darker tone; and austere modernist or Art Deco locations and decor, widely used earlier in the series, being largely dropped in favour of more lavish settings (epitomised by the re-imagining of Poirot's home as a larger, more lavish apartment).[5]

The series logo was redesigned (the full opening title sequence had not been used since series 6 in 1996), and the main theme motif, though used often, was usually featured subtly and in sombre arrangements; this has been described as a consequence of the novels adapted being darker and more psychologically driven.[6] However, a more upbeat string arrangement of the theme music is used for the end credits of "Hallowe'en Party", "The Clocks" and "Dead Man's Folly". In flashback scenes, later episodes also made extensive use of fisheye lens, distorted colours, and other visual effects.

Florin Court was used to represent Whitehaven Mansions.

Series 9–12 lack Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran, who had appeared in the previous series (excepting series 4, where Moran is absent). Series 10 (2006) introduced Zoë Wanamaker as the eccentric crime novelist Ariadne Oliver and David Yelland as Poirot's dependable valet, George — a character that had been introduced in the early Poirot novels but was left out of the early adaptations to develop the character of Miss Lemon. The introduction of Wanamaker and Yelland's characters and the absence of the other characters is generally consistent with the stories on which the scripts were based. Hugh Fraser and David Yelland[7] returned for two episodes of the final series (The Big Four and Curtain), with Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran[8] returning for the adaptation of The Big Four. Zoë Wanamaker also returned for the adaptations of Elephants Can Remember and Dead Man's Folly.

Clive Exton adapted seven novels and fourteen short stories for the series, including "The ABC Murders" and "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd",[9] which received mixed reviews from critics.[6] Anthony Horowitz was another prolific writer for the series, adapting three novels and nine short stories,[10] while Nick Dear adapted six novels. Comedian and novelist Mark Gatiss wrote three episodes and also guest-starred in the series,[11] as have Peter Flannery and Kevin Elyot. Ian Hallard, who co-wrote the screenplay for "The Big Four" with Mark Gatiss, appears in the episode and also "Hallowe'en Party", which was scripted by Gatiss alone.

Florin Court in Charterhouse Square, London, was used as Poirot's London residence, Whitehaven Mansions.[12] The final episode to be filmed was "Dead Man's Folly" in June 2013 on the Greenway Estate (which was Agatha Christie's home) broadcast on 30 October 2013.[13] Most of the locations and buildings where the episodes were shot were given fictional names.[14]

Casting

[edit]

Suchet was recommended for the part by Christie's family, who had seen him appear as Blott in the TV adaptation of Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape.[15] Suchet, a method actor, said that he prepared for the part by reading all the Poirot novels and every short story, and copying out every piece of description about the character.[16][17][18] Suchet told The Strand Magazine: "What I did was, I had my file on one side of me and a pile of stories on the other side and day after day, week after week, I ploughed through most of Agatha Christie's novels about Hercule Poirot and wrote down characteristics until I had a file full of documentation of the character. And then it was my business not only to know what he was like, but to gradually become him. I had to become him before we started shooting".[19]

During the filming of the first series, Suchet almost left the production during an argument with a director, insisting that Poirot's odd mannerisms (in this case, putting a handkerchief down before sitting on a park bench) be featured;[20] he later said "there's no question [Poirot's] obsessive-compulsive".[21] According to many critics and enthusiasts, Suchet's characterisation is considered to be the most accurate interpretation of all the actors who have played Poirot, and the closest to the character in the books.[22] In 2013, Suchet revealed that Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks had told him she was sure Christie would have approved of his performance.[23]

In 2007, Suchet spoke of his desire to film the remaining stories in the canon and hoped to achieve this before his 65th birthday in May 2011.[24] Despite speculation of cancellation early in 2011, the remaining books were ultimately adapted into a thirteenth series,[25] adapted in 2013 into 5 episodes, from which "Curtain" aired last on 13 November. A 2013 television special, Being Poirot, centred on Suchet's characterisation and his emotional final episode.

Development

[edit]

Actors

[edit]
middle aged white man, clean shaven and bald
David Suchet

Alongside recurring characters, the early series featured actors who later achieved greater fame, including Sean Pertwee ("The King of Clubs", 1989; "Dead Man's Folly", 2013), Joely Richardson ("The Dream", 1989), Polly Walker ("Peril at End House", 1990), Samantha Bond ("The Adventure of the Cheap Flat", 1990), Christopher Eccleston ("One, Two, Buckle My Shoe", 1992), Hermione Norris ("Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan", 1993), Damian Lewis ("Hickory Dickory Dock", 1995), Jamie Bamber ("The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", 2000), Russell Tovey ("Evil Under the Sun", 2001), Kelly Reilly ("Sad Cypress", 2003), Emily Blunt ("Death on the Nile", 2004), Alice Eve ("The Mystery of the Blue Train", 2005), Michael Fassbender ("After the Funeral", 2006), Aidan Gillen ("Five Little Pigs", 2003), Toby Jones and Jessica Chastain ("Murder on the Orient Express", 2010), and Tom Ellis ("Dead Man's Folly", 2013).

Four Academy Award nominees have appeared in the series: Sarah Miles, Barbara Hershey, Elizabeth McGovern and Elliott Gould. Peter Capaldi, Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender, Lesley Manville, Vanessa Kirby and Emily Blunt went on to receive Academy Award nominations after appearing on the show (with Chastain winning the Best Actress award in 2022 for The Eyes of Tammy Faye). Several members of British thespian families appeared in episodes throughout the course of the series. James Fox appeared as Colonel Race in "Death on the Nile", and his older brother Edward Fox appeared as Gudgeon in "The Hollow".[26]

Three of the Cusack sisters each appeared in an episode: Niamh Cusack in "The King of Clubs", Sorcha Cusack in "Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan", and Sinéad Cusack in "Dead Man's Folly". Phyllida Law and her daughter Sophie Thompson appeared in "Hallowe'en Party". David Yelland appeared as Charles Laverton West in "Murder in the Mews" and as George for the remainder of the series from Series 10 onward, and his daughter Hannah Yelland appeared as Geraldine Marsh in "Lord Edgware Dies".

Multiple roles

[edit]
Actors performing in multiple roles in Poirot episodes
Actor Character Episode
Nicholas Farrell[27] Donald Fraser "The ABC Murders" (1992)
Major Richard Knighton "The Mystery of the Blue Train" (2006)
Pip Torrens Major Rich "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" (1991)
Jeremy Cloade "Taken at the Flood" (2006)
Haydn Gwynne Coco Courtney "The Affair at the Victory Ball" (1991)
Miss Battersby "Third Girl" (2008)
Geoffrey Beevers Mr Tolliver "Problem at Sea" (1989)
Seddon "Sad Cypress" (2003)
Simon Shepherd David Hall "Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" (1993)
Dr. Rendell "Mrs McGinty's Dead" (2008)
Richard Lintern John Lake "Dead Man's Mirror" (1993)
Guy Carpenter "Mrs McGinty's Dead" (2008)
Richard Durden Dr Pritchard "The Case of the Missing Will" (1993)
Pebmarsh "Taken at the Flood" (2006)
John Carson Sir George Carrington "The Incredible Theft" (1989)
Richard Abernethie "After the Funeral" (2006)
Carol MacReady[28] Mildred Croft "Peril at End House" (1990)
Miss Johnson "Cat Among the Pigeons" (2008)
Miranda Forbes Landlady "Double Sin" (1990)
Mrs Turton "The ABC Murders" (1992)
Pat Gorman Desk Sergeant "The ABC Murders" (1992)
London Man "The Case of the Missing Will" (1993)
Beth Goddard Violet Wilson "The Case of the Missing Will" (1993)
Sister Agnieszka "Appointment with Death" (2008 [DVD release], 2009 [aired])
Lucy Liemann Miss Burgess "Cards on the Table" (2005)
Sonia "Third Girl" (2008)
David Yelland Charles Laverton West "Murder in the Mews" (1989)
George "Taken at the Flood" (2006)
"Mrs McGinty's Dead" (2008)
"Third Girl" (2008)
"Three Act Tragedy" (2010)
"Hallowe'en Party" (2010)
"The Big Four" (2013)
"Curtain: Poirot's Last Case" (2013)
Fenella Woolgar Ellis "Lord Edgware Dies" (2000)
Elizabeth Whittaker "Hallowe'en Party" (2010)
Beatie Edney Mary Cavendish "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1990)
Beryl Hemmings "The Clocks" (2011)
Frances Barber Lady Millicent Castle-Vaughan "The Veiled Lady" (1990)
Merlina Rival "The Clocks" (2011)
Sean Pertwee Ronnie Oglander "The King of Clubs" (1989)
Sir George Stubbs "Dead Man's Folly" (2013)
Danny Webb Porter "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" (1989)
Superintendent Bill Garroway "Elephants Can Remember" (2013)
Ian Hallard Edmund Drake "Hallowe'en Party" (2010)
Mercutio "The Big Four" (2013)
Phyllida Law Lady Isabel Carrington "The Incredible Theft" (1989)
Mrs Louise Llewellyn-Smythe "Hallowe'en Party" (2010)
Jane How Lady at Ball "The Mystery of the Blue Train" (2005)
Lady Veronica "Cat Among the Pigeons" (2008)
Patrick Ryecart Charles Arundel "Dumb Witness" (1996)
Sir Anthony Morgan "The Labours of Hercules" (2013)
Barbara Barnes Mrs Lester "The Lost Mine" (1990)
Louise Leidner "Murder in Mesopotamia" (2002)
Tim Stern[29] Bellboy "Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" (1993)
Alf Renny "Third Girl" (2008)
Catherine Russell Katrina Reiger "How Does Your Garden Grow?" (1991)
Pamela Horsfall "Mrs McGinty's Dead" (2008)

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard commented: "Personally, I regret very much that she [Agatha Christie] never saw David Suchet. I think that visually he is much the most convincing and perhaps he manages to convey to the viewer just enough of the irritation that we always associate with the perfectionist, to be convincing!"[30]

In 2008, the series was described by some critics as going "off piste",[31] though not negatively, from its old format. It was praised for its new writers, more lavish productions, and a greater emphasis on the darker psychology of the novels. Significantly, it was noted for "Five Little Pigs" (adapted by Kevin Elyot) bringing out a homosexual subtext of the novel.[6] Nominations for twenty BAFTAs were received between 1989 and 1991 for series 1–3.[32]

Accolades

[edit]

List of awards and nominations for Agatha Christie's Poirot
Award Date of ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result
British Academy Television Awards (1990) 1990 Best Original Television Music Christopher Gunning Won
British Academy Television Craft Awards (1990) 1990 Best Costume Design Linda Mattock (series 1, episodes 2, 4, 7–8, 10) Won
Sue Thomson (series 1, episodes 1, 3, 5–6, 9) Nominated
Best Make-up Hilary Martin, Christine Cant and Roseann Samuel Won
Best Design Rob Harris (series 1, episodes 1–2, 5, 8, 10) Nominated
Best Graphics Pat Gavin Won
British Academy Television Awards (1991) 1991 Best Actor David Suchet Nominated
Best Drama Series or Serial Brian Eastman Nominated
British Academy Television Craft Awards (1991) 1991 Best Costume Design Linda Mattock and Sharon Lewis Nominated
Best Film Sound Ken Weston, Rupert Scrivener and Sound Team Nominated
RTS Television Awards (1991) 1991 Best Tape or Film Editing – Drama Derek Bain Nominated
British Academy Television Awards (1992) 1992 Best Original Television Music Christopher Gunning Nominated
Best Drama Series or Serial Brian Eastman Nominated
British Academy Television Craft Awards (1992) 1992 Best Costume Design Robin Fraser-Paye (series 3, episodes 1, 4–5, 9–10) Nominated
Elizabeth Waller (series 3, episodes 2–3, 6–8) Nominated
Best Make-up Janis Gould (series 3, episodes 2–3, 6–8) Nominated
Edgar Awards (1992) 1992 Best Episode in a TV Series "The Lost Mine" Won[33]
Satellite Award (2010) 2010 Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film David Suchet Nominated
PGA Awards (2010) 2011 Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television "Murder on the Orient Express" Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards (2015) 2015 Outstanding Television Movie "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case" Nominated[34]

Home media

[edit]

In the UK, ITV Studios Home Entertainment owns the home media rights.

In Region 1, Acorn Media has the rights to series 1–6 and 11–12. Series 7–10 are distributed by A&E, a co-producer on several of them. In North America, series 1–11 are available on Netflix and Amazon Prime instant streaming service. In Region 4, Acorn Media, distributed by Reel DVD, has begun releasing the series on DVD in Australia in complete season sets. To date, they have released the first 8 series of the show.[35] Series 1–9 and 12 are available in Spain (Region 2) on Blu-ray with Spanish and English audio tracks. Dutch FilmWorks were reported to be the first company to release series 12, in 2010.

Beginning in 2011, Acorn began issuing the series on Blu-ray discs. As of November 2014, series 1 through 13 have all been issued on DVD and Blu-ray by Acorn. The A&E DVD releases of series 7 through 10 correspond to the A&E versions broadcast in America which were missing sections of the original video as originally broadcast in the United Kingdom. The Acorn releases of series 7 through 10 restore the missing video.

Home media releases of Poirot, showing series and episode numbers, with release dates
Release title Series No. of DVDs No. of Blu-ray discs Release date Episode no. Region no. Released by
The Complete Collection[36] 1–11 28 N/A 30 March 2009 1–61 2 ITV Studios
The Complete Collection[37] 1–12 32 N/A 15 August 2011 1–65 2 ITV Studios
The Definitive Collection[38] 1–13 35 N/A 18 November 2013 1–70 2 ITV Studios
The Early Cases Collection 1–6 18[39] 13 23 October 2012 1–45 1 Acorn Media
The Definitive Collection 7–10 12[40] N/A 25 January 2011 46–57 1 A&E Home Video
The Movie Collection – Set 4 11 3[41] N/A 7 July 2009 58–59 1 Acorn Media
The Movie Collection – Set 5 11–12 3[42] N/A 27 July 2010 60–61, 64 1 Acorn Media
Murder on the Orient Express 12 N/A 1[43] 26 October 2010 64 1 Acorn Media
The Movie Collection – Set 6 12 3[44] 3 12 July 2011 62–63, 65 1 Acorn Media
The Final Cases Collection 7–13 13[45] 13 4 November 2014 46–70 A ITV Studios & Acorn Media
Complete Cases Collection 1–13 33 28 4 November 2014 1–70 1 ITV Studios & Acorn Media

Being Poirot

[edit]
A statuette of Hercule Poirot in Ellezelles, Belgium

Being Poirot is a 50-minute 2013 ITV television documentary in which David Suchet attempts to unravel the mysterious appeal of Hercule Poirot and how he portrayed him.[46] It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on the same evening as the final episode, "Curtain".

Suchet visits the Greenway Estate, Agatha Christie's summer home, recollecting how he met her daughter Rosalind Hicks and her husband Anthony Hicks for their approval before he began filming. He meets Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard who recounts how his grandmother found the character amongst Belgian refugees in Torquay. There's a visit to the permanent Poirot exhibition at Torquay Museum, to which he presented the cane he used in the television series.

Suchet acknowledges the first stage and film adaptations of the books with actors such as Charles Laughton on the London stage in Alibi, an adaptation of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, in 1928. Alibi was filmed in 1931 with Austin Trevor but is now lost. The oldest surviving film portrayal from 1934 was Lord Edgware Dies again with Austin Trevor portraying Poirot. Suchet notes a conscious decision was made by the film company to portray Poirot without a moustache.

Films featuring Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov are also featured. Suchet reveals that he read the books and wrote down 93 notes about the character that he went on to use in his portrayal. The descriptions in the books helped him discover the voice he would use, and the rapid mincing gait.

Suchet also goes to Florin Court, a place that the production company chose to represent his home Whitehaven Mansions. There he meets first producer Brian Eastman, with whom he discusses the set that was built based on the flats, and Eastman's decision to fix the stories in 1936. Suchet also visits composer Christopher Gunning who had composed four themes for Eastman, the first being Gunning's favourite. Eastman chose the fourth after having Gunning darken the tone.

Suchet travels to Brussels, where he is feted by the police chief and mayor. He then goes to Ellezelles, which claims to be the birthplace of Poirot, and he is shown a birth certificate as proof. It says the date was 1 April, "April Fools' Day", with no year mentioned. Finally, Suchet travels on the Orient Express and recounts filming the episode "Dead Man's Folly" last at Greenway to finish on a high note.

Novels or stories not included in the series

[edit]

Suchet was proud to have completed the entire Poirot canon by the time of the broadcast of the final episode, only slightly short of the target he had set for himself in a 2007 interview of completing the entire canon before his 65th birthday.[47]

The short stories and novellas "The Submarine Plans", "The Market Basing Mystery", "Christmas Adventure", "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest", "The Second Gong", "The Incident of the Dog's Ball", and "Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly" were not filmed in their original short story format, as Agatha Christie later rewrote these stories as novellas or novels (The Incredible Theft, Murder in the Mews, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, Dead Man's Mirror, Dumb Witness, and Dead Man's Folly, respectively) which were made into episodes.

Unlike the other Poirot short story collections, where each story was adapted into a 1-hour episode, the collection entitled The Labours of Hercules, consisting of twelve short stories linked by an initial scene-setting story and a broad running theme, was adapted into a single 2-hour film. The result drew heavily on some of the stories. Other stories contributed only minor details. The original version of "The Capture of Cerberus", unpublished until 2009, was not used at all. Also incorporated into this single film was a character with the surname Lemesurier, as a nod to the short story "The Lemesurier Inheritance", which has otherwise not been included in the Poirot series.

One other short story, "The Regatta Mystery", is not included in the Suchet series, as it is not generally considered part of the Poirot canon. First published in issue 546 of the Strand Magazine in June 1936 under the title "Poirot and the Regatta Mystery", and illustrated by Jack M. Faulks, the story was later rewritten by Christie to change the detective from Hercule Poirot to Parker Pyne. It was as a Parker Pyne mystery that the story was first published in book format in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, published in the United States in 1939. Although the story is now associated with Parker Pyne, it was included in the 2008 omnibus volume Hercule Poirot: the Complete Short Stories, which was the first public association of the story with Hercule Poirot since the original Strand Magazine publication of 1936.

Aside from "Poirot and the Regatta Mystery", the one authentic Hercule Poirot story not included in any form, whole or partial, in the Agatha Christie's Poirot series is the 1930 play Black Coffee. Although it was adapted into a novel in 1998, with the permission of the Christie Estate, it was not previously available in novel format. David Suchet did give a live reading of the original play version for the Agatha Christie Theatre Company and therefore felt that he had done justice to the entire authentic canon.[48][49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Definition". Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. ^ Kemp, Stuart (8 April 2013). "Agatha Christie's Poirots' Final Season Snags Healthy Pre-Sales". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  3. ^ "David Suchet to star in final Poirot adaptations". BBC News. 14 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  4. ^ Kanter, Jake (13 September 2012). "Damien Timmer and Michele Buck, Mammoth Screen". BroadcastNow.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Goodbye to the splendid 1930s world of Poirot". BBC News. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "BFI Screenonline: Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–)". Screenonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  7. ^ "David Yelland". IMDb. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran are reunited with David Suchet for Agatha Christie's The Big Four". ITV Press Centre. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Clive Exton – Obituaries, News". The Independent. London. 18 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  10. ^ "Work: Television". Anthony Horowitz. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  11. ^ "Cat among the Pigeons". ITV.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  12. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–)" Archived 23 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
  13. ^ "Poirot investigates his last mystery at Greenway". NationalTrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  14. ^ "On location with Poirot - End house". www.tvlocations.net. TV Locations. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  15. ^ Walton, James (9 September 2008). "David Suchet: Poirot". Telegraph.co.uk. London. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  16. ^ Dillin, John (25 March 1992). "The Actor Behind Popular Poirot" Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Christian Science Monitor.
  17. ^ Dudley, Jane. "Award-winning actor David Suchet plays Robert Maxwell in a gripping account of the dramatic final stage of the media tycoon's life" Archived 14 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine. BBC.co.uk.
  18. ^ Dudley, Jane (27 April 1997). "Inside the mind of a media monster" Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Yorkshire Post.
  19. ^ J.D. Hobbs. "Suchet's Poirot". Poirot.us. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  20. ^ (29 October 2013). "David Suchet reveals he almost quit Poirot during the first series after an argument over a hanky" Archived 6 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Mirror.co.uk.
  21. ^ Barton, Laura (18 May 2009). "Poirot and me". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Drama Faces – David Suchet". BBC.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  23. ^ "Curtain: Press Packet" Archived 2 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ITVStatic.com.
  24. ^ "Meet the man behind the character". ITV.com. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  25. ^ Morgan Jeffrey (14 November 2011). "Poirot to return for final series on ITV". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011.
  26. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot". ITV.com. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008.
  27. ^ "Nicholas Farrell". IMDb. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  28. ^ "Carol MacReady". IMDb. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  29. ^ "Tim Stern (I)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  30. ^ "Agatha Christie: Characters: Poirot". Agatha Christie Limited. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  31. ^ Wright, Mark (26 September 2008). "Square Eyes 26–28 September". Blogs.TheStage.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  32. ^ "BAFTA Awards Database". BAFTA.org. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  33. ^ "The Edgar Awards Database". TheEdgars.com. Mystery Writers of America. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  34. ^ "Emmy Awards 2015: The complete winners list". CNN. 20 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  35. ^ "Poirot". EzyDVD.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot – Complete Series 1–11 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  37. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot – The Complete Series 1–12 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  38. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot – The Definitive Collection (Series 1–13) [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  39. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Early Cases – DVD (1989)". Amazon. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  40. ^ "Agatha Christie Poirot: Definitive Collection – DVD (2010)". Amazon. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  41. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection – Set 4 (DVD)". Amazon. 7 July 2009. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  42. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection – Set 5 (DVD)". Amazon. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  43. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express [Blu-ray]". Amazon. 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  44. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection – Set 6 (DVD)". Amazon. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  45. ^ "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Final Cases Collection". Amazon. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  46. ^ kokopico (2 December 2014). "Being Poirot". Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018 – via YouTube.
  47. ^ Interview archived here.
  48. ^ Radio Times report Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine of the reading.
  49. ^ Details of the reading of Black Coffee Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine with link to review.
[edit]