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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,960 There's nothing more British than Agatha Christie. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,960 Since the publication of her first book 100 years ago, 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,800 she's been delighting us with fiendishly clever murder mysteries 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,000 set in the charming villages and grand homes of our nation. 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,160 Yet it took someone quite un-British to solve the crimes in her stories. 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,960 Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective with a brain like no other. 9 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:35,800 'Agatha launched him into the world a century ago, 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:37,960 'and they've been partners in crime ever since. 11 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,160 'Like millions of others, I adore them both, 12 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,960 'but Agatha Christie, just like Poirot, 13 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:44,320 'didn't give much away.' 14 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,960 And both seem to be, well, mysterious cases. 15 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,160 So now I want to turn the investigation back onto them. 16 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,320 'Agatha Christie is the Queen of crime.' 17 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,960 This master of storytelling. 18 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:03,320 She is on it every time, every page, every book. 19 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,160 'And Hercule Poirot was always by her side, 20 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,320 'on page and on screen.' 21 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:11,800 Hercule Poirot is a private detective. 22 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,960 Hercule Poirot is irresistible, he has star quality. 23 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:17,960 He has this extraordinary brain. 24 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:21,960 Always I am right, it is so invariable it startles me. 25 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:23,960 'But how do they conquer the world together? 26 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,960 'With the help of some famous faces...' 27 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:29,960 Loosen your belts... LAUGHTER 28 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:31,960 ..it's gonna get messy. 29 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:32,960 'A host of experts...' 30 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:35,960 She describes cleaning them with a bit of dental equipment 31 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:37,960 and her face cream. 32 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:40,960 Weapons, wounds, trace evidence, it's all there. 33 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,960 '..access to her family and their private archives...' 34 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:45,960 I think she will always be here 35 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:48,480 and while she's always here, Poirot will be here. 36 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,480 '..and the locations that shaped Agatha's work.' 37 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,960 This was nicknamed "the best hotel west of The Ritz." 38 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,960 'This is the story of the greatest crime duo ever.' 39 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,960 I think I Agatha Christie and Poirot will be forever. 40 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,960 No-one else has come close. They just haven't. 41 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,800 Agatha Christie was a Devon girl, 42 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:24,960 she drew upon the county of her childhood 43 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:26,960 for so many of her stories. 44 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,960 Creaky country houses, the vicars on their bicycles, 45 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,800 and the chocolate box villages with a secret behind every door. 46 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,640 It's not the obvious home for a Belgian detective 47 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,800 with a fondness for order and cleanliness. 48 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,960 But it's in Devon that Agatha found Poirot. 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,960 'Agatha Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay, 50 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,960 'a popular holiday spot for wealthy Victorians.' 51 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:52,960 Devon was a massive part of her life, 52 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,960 a part of her being, I think. 53 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,960 She certainly felt happier here than anywhere else. 54 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:01,960 'Her family lived in a large villa 55 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,960 'with spacious grounds on the edge of town.' 56 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,960 That genteel, upper-middle-class childhood that she had, 57 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:10,960 it's there through the books. 58 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,640 'Agatha's father died when she was 11. 59 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:19,160 'From this point on, she became incredibly close with her mother.' 60 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,960 Agatha Christie's home life was a matriarchy 61 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,960 that the women were in positions of power 62 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,960 and that the women held a lot of importance. 63 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,960 They're right there and they have big personalities 64 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,960 and they have the same desires and needs as the men 65 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:35,960 and I really, I love that about her writing. 66 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,960 'Agatha had a brother and sister, 10 and 11 years older than her, 67 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,960 'meaning she grew up largely in her own company.' 68 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,960 She was like an only child, because she spent so much time on her own 69 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:51,960 and in her own world, playing her own games. 70 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,960 I'm an only child and I know that, growing up, 71 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:56,960 I didn't have anybody else to play with. 72 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,960 And making up stories and acting out different scenarios 73 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:01,960 and coming up with different characters. 74 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:04,480 'Although Agatha's mother 75 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:06,960 'decided against giving her a formal education, 76 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,640 'she still found her own sources of knowledge.' 77 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,960 Agatha Christie taught herself a lot. 78 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:14,960 She was obviously incredibly motivated, 79 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,480 she was obviously incredibly clever, incredibly imaginative. 80 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,320 'By her late teens, Agatha had started writing as a hobby. 81 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,960 'Before long, she had short stories and poems 82 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:27,960 'published in local magazines, 83 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:29,960 'but for her talent to become a career, 84 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:31,960 'it took a challenge from her older sister.' 85 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,960 I gather that she'd been reading a lot of murder mysteries 86 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,960 and saying, you know, "I could do this," 87 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:39,960 and her sister said, "Well, why don't you?" 88 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,800 To get the best out of someone, you need to be challenged, 89 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:43,960 you need to be pushed to become the best 90 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,960 and I think it was interesting seeing Agatha Christie 91 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,960 being pushed by her older sister to write a novel. 92 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,960 'Even much later in life, 93 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:53,960 'Agatha would describe the origin of her career 94 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:55,960 'as an accident.' 95 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:57,960 Why are you so fascinated by crime? 96 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,160 I don't know that I'm really fascinated by it, 97 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:02,960 I just began writing about it, 98 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,480 then one continues, doesn't one, usually? 99 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,160 I always liked detective stories. 100 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,960 'Agatha's debut novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, 101 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,160 'was published in the UK in 1921.' 102 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,960 An immediate success, it introduced the world to someone 103 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,960 who would go on to be Agatha's longest life companion, 104 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:23,960 Hercule Poirot. 105 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,480 A retired police officer from Belgium, 106 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,960 Poirot was like no other detective seen before in fiction. 107 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,480 He does drop in to Styles perfectly formed. 108 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,960 Poirot is incredibly methodical, he's incredibly, obviously, clever. 109 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,960 He's also meticulous, he's also vain, 110 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,320 but at the end of the day, he has a twinkle 111 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:46,960 and you respect him. 112 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,960 Hercule Poirot is one of the greatest creations 113 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,960 in all literary fiction. There's no question of it. 114 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,960 'Agatha Christie would write 33 novels, 115 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,960 'three plays and 69 short stories featuring Poirot.' 116 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:01,960 She's sold on all four corners of the earth, 117 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,320 she's sold more books than any other novelist. 118 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,960 She's, you know, been published in more languages 119 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,960 pretty much than anyone, it's a pretty extraordinary story. 120 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,960 I imagine there is a generation of crime writers 121 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,960 that would hold Agatha Christie up as their leading light. 122 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,960 I'm the author of the Murder Most Unladylike mystery series. 123 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,960 My detective Hazel has a lot to do with Poirot, 124 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:25,960 and the logic puzzles they solve, 125 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,960 the kind of very tight, enclosed murder mysteries they solve 126 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,960 are really, completely based on Agatha Christie's mysteries. 127 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:33,960 So I'm an author who is really inspired by her. 128 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:39,160 I am the author of four continuation novels starring Hercule Poirot. 129 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,000 I first discovered Poirot when I read Murder On The Orient Express. 130 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,960 It felt like a sort of Eureka moment. 131 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:48,960 I have loved him ever since. 132 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,960 'Poirot is also the star of a major Hollywood movie franchise 133 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:54,960 'starring Sir Kenneth Branagh.' 134 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,800 My name is Hercule Poirot, 135 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,960 and I am probably the greatest detective in the world. 136 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,960 'Yet it's through the television that most of us know Poirot. 137 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,960 'From 1989 to 2013, 138 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,960 'the iconic detective was beamed into our living rooms every week 139 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,160 'with David Suchet taking the lead role.' 140 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,960 The original series was a huge Sunday night treat. 141 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,960 Beautifully produced, wonderful production values, 142 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:23,960 a fantastic lead actor. 143 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,960 It seems as if you have thought of everything, Monsieur Doyle, 144 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,160 except for one thing... 145 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:32,480 Hercule Poirot. 146 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:36,960 They've allowed us, the televisual sort of generation, 147 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:38,960 to enter into Agatha's world 148 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,000 in a way that no-one would ever have dreamt of. 149 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,960 Me and Monsieur Poirot have met before. 150 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,160 There's no man's judgement I'd sooner take than his. 151 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:50,000 If I'm not greatly mistaken, he's got something up his sleeve. 152 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:53,960 Well, I will tell you this. 153 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:55,960 If you arrest Monsieur Alfred Inglethorp, 154 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:57,960 it will bring you no kudos. 155 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,480 The case against him will be dismissed comme ca. 156 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,960 It is about nostalgia, it's about old England. 157 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,960 It gives the audience a sense of pleasure 158 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:14,960 to see pretty countryside and lovely costumes. 159 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:17,960 I love the fact that you can sort of smell 160 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:19,960 the cigarette smoke in the air, 161 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:21,960 you know when those women walk into the room 162 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:22,960 there will be a rustle of silk. 163 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,960 I think we can agree I'm not short on motive. 164 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:28,960 Or opportunity. 165 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,000 By your own admission, you enter the compartment 166 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,960 of Madame Ruth Kettering and rifle through her possessions. 167 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,960 Oh, you had the desire, Senora, and the passion necessaire, 168 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:38,960 to commit a crime of such atrocity. 169 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:40,960 Est ca c'est la verite? 170 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,000 'Through the long-running ITV series, Poirot reached an audience 171 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,960 'far beyond anything Agatha could have imagined 172 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,960 'when she introduced him to the British public in 1921. 173 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,960 'Like Agatha, Poirot was formed in Torquay, 174 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,480 'where locals are immensely proud of their connection to both of them. 175 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,960 'At the town's museum, manager Carl Smith 176 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,320 'has been given access to some of Agatha's private notebooks 177 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,800 'that reveal secrets of how she created her stories and characters.' 178 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:14,960 In front of me, I have a copy of a handwritten article 179 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,640 that was written by Agatha Christie in 1938. 180 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,480 "How did the character of Hercule Poirot come into being? 181 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,960 "It was the early autumn of 1914, 182 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,960 "Belgian refugees were in most country places. 183 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,960 "Why not have a Belgian refugee, 184 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,960 "a former shining light of the Belgian police force." 185 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:43,960 'During World War I, 250,000 Belgian refugees entered Britain, 186 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,960 'many settling in Agatha's county of Devon.' 187 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:52,800 Her work always seemed to be organic and coming out of a real scenario. 188 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:58,480 And then she would sort of secrete those people that she watched... 189 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:02,800 in the characters that she wrote. 190 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:04,960 Belgium had a very special meaning to the British. 191 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,960 Poor little Belgium was a phrase that was used all the time. 192 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,960 British middle-class families knitted socks for Belgian children. 193 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,960 It was a thing, you know, that everyone would have recognised. 194 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,480 They had a victimhood, so there was a dignity about Poirot. 195 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,960 He wants to know why we have to speak English all of the time. 196 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:24,640 He finds it tiring. 197 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:25,960 Hmm. 198 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,960 Because, Monsieur Van der Stadt, in this country, we are the guests. 199 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,640 If we are to gain the confidence of the natives, 200 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,800 we must learn their ways. 201 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,640 'Poirot was quite unlike anyone else he met 202 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:40,960 'on his adventures through Britain.' 203 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:42,000 I see you have joined the cavalry? 204 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,960 Poirot is not a pint-and-pork-scratchings man. 205 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:46,960 Let's face it. 206 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,960 I say, do you fancy a pint of beer if there's any left? 207 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,960 Non, merci. 208 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,960 I cannot yet bring myself to enjoy the English public house. 209 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,960 'Poirot was not only different to the other characters in her stories, 210 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,960 'he was also quite unlike Agatha herself.' 211 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,960 "He should be very neat, very orderly. 212 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,800 "Is that because I'm such a wildly untidy person myself?" 213 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:09,960 I think were seeing something 214 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,960 of a mirror-image of Agatha Christie in Poirot. 215 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:14,960 That were seeing lots of things 216 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,960 that perhaps are not important to her or not strengths of hers 217 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,960 seem to manifest themselves in Poirot. 218 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,960 She is incredibly messy, he is incredibly precise. 219 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,960 So she probably created him that way to be completely outside of her. 220 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,640 Hastings, you dressed in haste, your tie is to one side. 221 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:33,320 'Agatha also created Captain Hastings, 222 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,960 'Poirot's long-suffering side kick, 223 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,160 'who struggled to keep up with the meticulous investigations.' 224 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:39,960 Did it not strike you as peculiar... 225 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:41,960 He's not the sharpest tool in the box, 226 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:43,960 but, I mean, compared to Poirot, 227 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,960 anyone would be lacking in a few grey cells, I think. 228 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:48,480 I'm pleased of you, Hastings. 229 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,960 You have a good memory and have given to me, faithfully, the facts. 230 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,960 But of the order in which you present them, I say nothing. 231 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:00,000 Truly it is deplorable. 232 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,960 Hastings tolerates Poirot's idiosyncrasies, too, 233 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:05,960 which can become a little tedious, sometimes. 234 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,960 'Poirot's biggest idiosyncrasy was his obsession with tidiness. 235 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,160 'Although tedious to some, it made him an extraordinary detective.' 236 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,960 He's a character that you kind of you're slightly frustrated by 237 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:20,960 because you just think, 238 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,800 "Just let it go, just let go, just let go and stop being so held," 239 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,960 but at the same time the way he gets to his point 240 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:28,960 and the way he gets to the conclusion 241 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:29,960 is just very, very entertaining. 242 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:31,960 'In his debut outing, 243 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,960 'he makes a key breakthrough by rearranging items on a mantelpiece.' 244 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:37,960 I remember that when you and I were together 245 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:39,800 in the room of Madame Inglethorp, 246 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,960 'that I already straightened the ornaments. 247 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:46,800 'Now, if they were already straightened, 248 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:48,960 'there would be no reason for me to have to straighten them again.' 249 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,960 Something that would have connected to the murderer with the crime. 250 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,960 Unless someone in the meantime had touched them. 251 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,320 He's a man that watches things very closely, he's like a great chef. 252 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,960 Because it is all about looking into the detail 253 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:04,960 and seeing things that other people can't see. 254 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,960 Agatha Christie sums up one of the greatest characters 255 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:11,960 of all fiction in three words, 256 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:13,960 "little grey cells." 257 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,960 A great detective needs a great brain. 258 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,960 And that's what Poirot has. 259 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:21,960 Oh, yes. 260 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,960 The little grey cells have done well today. 261 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,960 For 100 years, audiences and readers have been thrilled by Poirot's 262 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,320 quirky yet meticulous approach to crime solving. 263 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,160 We always know Poirot will catch the murderer, explain how they did it, 264 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,320 and perhaps tidy a few mantelpieces along the way. 265 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,960 But in his first outing, Agatha didn't give him an easy ride. 266 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:52,960 She drew on her own experiences in war 267 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:54,960 to devise a method of killing 268 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,960 that could deceive even the keenest of eyes. 269 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,000 In Poirot, Agatha Christie had created the perfect detective. 270 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,320 A Belgian refugee living in Britain, 271 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:18,640 he studied every case with a detached gaze of an outsider. 272 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:20,960 And she gifted him with a great brain. 273 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,960 The little grey cells of which he is so proud. 274 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:28,960 But in her debut novel, Agatha tested that brain to the limit. 275 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,960 'In her first book, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, 276 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,320 Poirot was confronted with a murder victim 277 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,960 who appeared to have been poisoned. 278 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,480 Why did you want to know if Mrs Inglethorp ate well last night? 279 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:45,960 The contention of the present 280 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,960 is that Madame Inglethorp died of the strychnine poisoning. No? 281 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,960 Agatha Christie likes a poisoner. 282 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,640 She loves a bit of poisoning. 283 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:57,960 Poison is a wonderful weapon for her 284 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,000 because it is, to all intents and purposes, bloodless. 285 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,960 It is a clean death, it is something that anybody, as well, can use. 286 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,960 'Agatha picked up her unique knowledge of poisons 287 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,960 'while working as a nurse in Torquay's military hospital 288 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:12,960 'during World War I. 289 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,960 'Forensic scientists and murder mystery obsessive Carla Valentine 290 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,960 'has researched Agatha Christie's medical background. 291 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:21,960 Agatha would have had a baptism of fire. 292 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,960 She would have seen things that she had never seen before. 293 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,640 Blood and gore, stitching, amputations, bloody floors. 294 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:34,640 It really was a huge new experience for her 295 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,960 and, you know, one that shaped her character for years to come. 296 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,960 'Before long, Agatha was keen to move away 297 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,960 'from the gruesome front line of nursing. 298 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,960 'So she specialised as a dispensary nurse, 299 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:49,960 'preparing medication for patients.' 300 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,960 So what she had to do was she would mix powders, 301 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,960 and she would mix solutions, and she would make pills, pessaries, 302 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:59,960 ointments, even, you know, medications. 303 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:02,960 And it really was a very specialist job. 304 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,960 'In her debut Poirot story, 305 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,960 'Agatha's poison of choice was strychnine.' 306 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,960 I would like your consent to a postmortem, then. 307 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,160 That's not necessary, surely it was a heart attack? 308 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:17,960 Oh, no, I'm sorry. 309 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:23,960 Mrs Inglethorp showed classic symptoms of strychnine poisoning. 310 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:24,960 Can't be! 311 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,960 'Although steadily in large quantities, 312 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,960 'it was an everyday medicine if used safely.' 313 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,960 The effect of it on the nervous system, in small doses, 314 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,960 wouldn't kill you, but it would sort of pep you up a little bit. 315 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,640 A lot of the time, it would be even used by old ladies. 316 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,000 Everything in her life seems to have been organic, 317 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,960 and she sees it, grabs it and utilises it. 318 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:54,960 She was so meticulous about writing about poisoning and poisons, 319 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,160 that the poison society 320 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,960 commended her writing about poisoning. 321 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:03,960 There, you see. 322 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,480 Already the strychnine is beginning to precipitate 323 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,320 and fall to the bottom. 324 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,960 In a few hours, it will form colourless crystals. 325 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,960 Which remain at the bottom of the liquid? 326 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,960 Which remain at the bottom of the liquid. 327 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:18,480 'Poison would go on to be 328 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,960 'one of Agatha's favourite methods of murder. 329 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:22,960 'She killed five characters with strychnine, 330 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,960 'eight with arsenic, and 18 with cyanide.' 331 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:28,960 She clearly learnt as much 332 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,480 as she could possibly learn about poison 333 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,960 and then dripped those poisonous moments 334 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,960 into her novels and her short stories forever after. 335 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,160 In the laboratory on the previous afternoon, 336 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,960 you would have seen Caroline Crale steal the poison. 337 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,960 Monsieur Blake had his back to the room while he was talking to you, 338 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,960 so it was perfectly possible for you to see her. 339 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,960 The only person who could do so. 340 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,160 'A few years into her writing career, 341 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,960 'Agatha and her husband Archie moved out of London 342 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,960 'to the nearby commuter town of Sunningdale. 343 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:04,960 'Archie was a fan of golf 344 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,960 'and enjoyed the towns courses a little too much.' 345 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,960 I suppose that's when things started to go wrong. 346 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:15,960 The golf became a symbol, if you like, of their diverging ways. 347 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,960 She described herself as a "golf widow." 348 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:21,960 'As Agatha's marriage started to suffer, 349 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,960 'she found comfort in the clear logic of Hercule Poirot. 350 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:30,960 'In 1926, she published her most celebrated story yet, 351 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,960 'The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd.' 352 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,960 Everything changed, really, with The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd. 353 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:38,960 It still obsesses people 354 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,960 because it is probably the perfect detective story. 355 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,960 'In this rarely heard interview from her family archives, 356 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,320 'Agatha reveals how her perfect detective story 357 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:49,960 'was one of the hardest to write.' 358 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,960 CHRISTIE: These are the little plots that tease at one, 359 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,800 one likes to think of, one knows one is going to write. 360 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:58,320 That was much like Roger Ackroyd... 361 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,960 which played about in my mind for a long time 362 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,320 before I could get the details fixed. 363 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,960 I think we all agree that The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd 364 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,960 is the ultimate detective story. 365 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,960 The best ever piece of fiction of its kind. 366 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,960 POIROT: "My little book is about the murder of Roger Ackroyd, 367 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,160 "the events leading up to it, 368 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,960 "the subsequenct numbskull investigation 369 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,160 "and the final revelation, to you alone, dear reader, 370 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:26,960 "of the guilty party." 371 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,960 'This game-changing book challenged the rules of crime fiction. 372 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,960 'The murderer's identity is so unexpected, 373 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,320 'that it draws into question every page, 374 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,960 'every word that has gone before.' 375 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,960 As we move towards the end of the novel, 376 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,960 she performs a fantastic trick, but she does it so well 377 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,960 that she absolutely misdirects the reader 378 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,960 in a way that really very few people would be able to anticipate. 379 00:19:54,960 --> 00:20:00,320 That was the story that put Agatha way up on that plinth. 380 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,000 And no-one will ever get her down because of that book. 381 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,320 POIROT: "The true stories of these murders most dreadful 382 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,960 "must, for the moment, remain a secret. 383 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:13,960 "The last favour, if you will, 384 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,960 "to a man that I once looked on as a friend." 385 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,960 The shock of who the murderer is 386 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,960 resounds to this day through the whole genre. 387 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,000 Once she did that, other detective writers just bowed down and said, 388 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,960 "She is the Queen, there is... none of us can touch her." 389 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,800 And if you haven't read it, I'd urge you to read it. 390 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:36,960 It's wonderful. 391 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,160 And see if you think you can tell who did it, 392 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,480 and the chances are you won't. LAUGHTER 393 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,960 'As Agatha's career reached a new peak, 394 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,960 'her private world was crumbling. 395 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:49,960 'Husband Archie revealed 396 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,960 'he had started a relationship with a younger woman. 397 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,640 'And, around the same time, Agatha's mother died.' 398 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:58,800 In the winter of 1926, 399 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:00,960 Agatha Christie was at her lowest ebb. 400 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,960 But then her life took a turn 401 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,960 as dramatic as anything in her stories, 402 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,960 and her private turmoil became public. 403 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,960 'On December 4th, her car was found abandoned 404 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,960 'at a beauty spot in Surrey on the edge of the North Downs. 405 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,960 'Before long, police were investigating the incident 406 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,480 'as a missing persons case, and it was front-page news.' 407 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:23,960 The tabloids must have just not been able to believe it 408 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,960 because it's just like, it could have been one of her books. 409 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:28,960 You've got a woman missing, 410 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,960 a car parked on the North Downs in the middle of nowhere, 411 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,160 you've got a husband who's run off with a younger woman. 412 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,960 She's on the front page of every newspaper for gossip. 413 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,960 You know, she's basically being trashed 414 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:43,960 by the poor behaviour of her husband. 415 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,960 'Agatha Christie biographer Laura Thompson 416 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:48,960 has returned to the Surrey countryside 417 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,320 where police and public searched furiously for Agatha. 418 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,960 These are the police files from the case. 419 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:57,960 "She might have fallen down 420 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,000 "one of the numerous gravel pits that abound there. 421 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,960 "Or she might have been, as was strongly suggested to the police, 422 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,960 "the victim of a serious crime." 423 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:12,960 The police wondered whether Archie Christie might have been involved. 424 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,960 Could he have made her disappear? 425 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,960 I mean, after all, when it comes to murder, 426 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:19,960 the domestic murder is the most common murder. 427 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,160 'But the grim headline everyone had been braced for never came. 428 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,960 'Because, on the morning Agatha's car was found abandoned, 429 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,960 'she had in fact made her way to London and, from there, 430 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:32,960 'she caught a train home to Harrogate in Yorkshire.' 431 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,000 We sort of gathered that she had lost confidence 432 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,960 in herself and her marriage, and was despairing, 433 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,960 and thought "To hell, I don't want to be anywhere near him and home," 434 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,960 and goodness knows, I know exactly how that feels. 435 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,160 'She took a room in a spa hotel then known as the Harrogate Hydro.' 436 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,320 I think her heart was broken. 437 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,960 So the crisis that she was in at that time, 438 00:22:55,960 --> 00:23:00,960 I think, absolutely makes perfect sense of her running away. 439 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:05,960 'During her stay, Agatha appeared to be a normal hotel guest.' 440 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,320 She seemed fine to the people around her, 441 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,320 but I'm pretty sure that was a front. 442 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,000 The thing you do when you've just had a break-up 443 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,160 and you're trying to show your ex how fine you are, 444 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:15,960 that you're great, you're having a lovely time 445 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:17,960 and you don't even remember them. 446 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,960 'After nine days, on December 10th, 447 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,960 'two staff members informed the police 448 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,480 'that they believed Agatha Christie was staying at the hotel. 449 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,480 'And the next day, her disappearance ended.' 450 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,960 There, sitting by the fire, was her husband Archie... 451 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:33,960 who had come up with a policeman. 452 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,960 I mean, it must have been extraordinary. 453 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,960 'With the press gathering at the hotel front entrance, 454 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,960 'they attempted to escape via another route. 455 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,960 'They had to be bright idea of going out to the side entrance, 456 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,960 'but The Daily Mail was onto that, and they were waiting for her there 457 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,960 'and got this amazing shot of this blank face.' 458 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:54,480 SHUTTER SNAPS 459 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,960 I suspect it felt alarming and overwhelming, you know, 460 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:58,960 the fame wasn't earned, it wasn't from her books, 461 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:00,960 it was from something she did in her private life 462 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:01,960 that became public. 463 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,960 The truth is, Agatha Christie wrote fiction, 464 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,960 she didn't want to be a character in a fiction. 465 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,960 'Archie told reporters that Agatha's disappearance 466 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:12,640 'had been caused by a loss of memory.' 467 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:14,960 I think most people would accept 468 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,640 that she was going through an incredibly stressful time. 469 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,960 She obviously had some breakdown of some sort. 470 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,960 Even now, we still don't really know what happened. 471 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:26,960 I mean, we know she was in Harrogate, 472 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,320 but we don't really know why for that long 473 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,960 and why she just went for radio silence 474 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:32,960 and didn't come out of hiding. 475 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:35,480 I suppose you could say 476 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,960 it was, like, just a typical Agatha Christie thing to do. 477 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,480 'Agatha and Archie divorced after the disappearance. 478 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,960 'And some would say there was a marked change 479 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,960 'in her depiction of Poirot in the following years.' 480 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,960 I think an experience like that does alter you and, 481 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,640 if you're altered, your books are altered. 482 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,960 Poirot becomes, I think, slightly softer, slightly more mature. 483 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:57,960 You must look to the future. 484 00:24:57,960 --> 00:24:59,960 SHE SCOFFS Oh, she'd love that. 485 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:00,960 I am thinking of you. 486 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,480 You have before you your whole life. 487 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,960 We get a glimpse at Hercule Poirot's heart. 488 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:12,960 You can see that there has been a possibility of love in his eye. 489 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,960 After the media frenzy surrounding her disappearance, 490 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,960 Agatha Christie was front-page news for all the wrong reasons. 491 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,960 With heavy scrutiny from press and public alike, 492 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,480 Britain was starting to feel like a prison. 493 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,960 But Agatha would discover a new freedom through foreign travel 494 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,960 that would liberate her imagination like never before. 495 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,000 Agatha Christie had always been curious 496 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,960 about the world beyond Britain. 497 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,960 After her divorce from Archie, she indulged her curiosity 498 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:48,480 by travelling abroad alone, 499 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,320 picking up new stories for Poirot along the way. 500 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:56,960 But it wasn't until she boarded a luxury train bound for Istanbul 501 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,960 that she would discover Poirot's greatest adventure yet. 502 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,000 'In 1928, Agatha took her first journey on the Orient express. 503 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,960 She uses her independent spirit to go travelling... 504 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,320 on her own. 505 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:14,960 This is 100 years ago, this is unusual. 506 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:17,960 You have to remember how rare it was 507 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,960 for the British reading public to travel outside Britain. 508 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,960 But, early on, she made enough money to afford to travel en luxe, 509 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,960 go on these grand trains like The Orient Express. 510 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,960 What a woman. I mean, what a woman! 511 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,960 She was a trailblazer in so many different ways. 512 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,960 'Agatha would have started her train journey 513 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,960 'at Victoria Station in London, 514 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,960 'which she described as "the gateway to the world beyond England." 515 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,960 'Today, the luxury train provider Belmond 516 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,960 'runs services that recreate the comfort and elegance 517 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:51,960 'that she would have enjoyed.' 518 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,000 'Agatha Christie fan and actress Joanna Page 519 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,000 'has come to discover why this opulent mode of transport 520 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,960 'had so much appeal.' 521 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:03,960 The first time I started reading Agatha's novels 522 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,160 was when I was quite young. 523 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,960 I think I leapt from Enid Blyton to Agatha Christie. 524 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:15,960 Trains are just such a lovely place to let your imagination just wander. 525 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,960 I mean, you're sitting on there for such a long time, 526 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,960 meeting lots of different people. 527 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,960 It's just the perfect place for stories just to unfold in your mind. 528 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:29,800 She just must have been lapping up all of these different countries, 529 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:30,960 and all of the different locations, 530 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,480 and just putting it into each of her books. 531 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,960 I just think that's just wonderful. 532 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:38,960 Good morning, madam, and welcome on board 533 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:39,960 the Belmond British Pullman. 534 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,960 I can imagine why Agatha Christie would love train travel like this. 535 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,960 Because it's just so indulgent, and you just feel so special. 536 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,800 'Agatha Christie became a regular traveller on The Orient Express 537 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,960 'and referred to it as "a familiar old friend." 538 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,960 'The long meandering journey from west to east 539 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,960 'would prove to be a gift for a prolific writer like Agatha.' 540 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,960 There's something incredibly glamorous about that period. 541 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,960 And the idea of sitting down for dinner 542 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,960 with the most beautiful, white linen tablecloth 543 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:16,960 and silver service 544 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:21,320 and people coming in long, slinky gowns and cigarette holders. 545 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:26,960 There is something about that period that is just captivating. 546 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:30,960 To have a train travelling across Europe around the world, 547 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,960 seeing all the different countries with that level of food and service 548 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,960 and hospitality and luxury, I always found that quite special. 549 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,160 'Agatha's love of luxury train travel 550 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,960 'would provide her with a backdrop for Murder On the Orient Express.' 551 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:50,960 'Inspired by her early experience 552 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,000 'of being trapped on the Orient Express after flooding, 553 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,960 'the story pivots around 12 characters brought together 554 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,960 'after a snow drift blocks the train's path.' 555 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:02,960 Murder on the Orient Express has lots of things going for it. 556 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,800 The train is obviously, almost an extra character in it. 557 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:08,960 It is the ultimate in luxury. 558 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:10,960 Agatha Christie is at her best 559 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,960 writing what one might think of as locked room mysteries. 560 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,960 Where there is a small number of people in a contained space. 561 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:22,960 You do feel airless and trapped, and unable to get away. 562 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,000 That is frightening. 563 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,960 Everyone's in danger and everyone's looking over their shoulder. 564 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:28,320 Everyone's, you know, 565 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,960 checking everyone and everything all the time, 566 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:32,960 and it's a genius device. 567 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:36,960 To put mystique and betrayal in that confined space, 568 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:41,480 again with these very well-to-do characters, you know, 569 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,960 the last thing you'd expect is a murder. 570 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,960 There is a murderer among us. 571 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:03,960 It's the deep, dark, psychological stuff that really floats my boat, 572 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,800 why people do dark and bad things. 573 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,960 Everybody's scared. Or are they? 574 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:11,960 Everybody could have done it, or could they? 575 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,960 Everybody could be a victim, everybody is a victim. 576 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,000 Who's going to be bumped off next? 577 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,960 And you've got Poirot there to solve it, or not to solve it. 578 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,960 'It's not only the intriguing plot, mysterious characters 579 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,000 'and stunning location that has captured the imagination, 580 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,960 'it is also Agatha's devilishly clever finale.' 581 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,960 The end of Murder On The Orient Express leaves Poirot 582 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,960 with a moral dilemma. What is he to do? 583 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,800 Because justice must be done. 584 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:48,000 Poirot is in real trouble, and it's good to see him squirm. 585 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,960 Ladies and gentlemen... 586 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:52,960 ..I have understood, in this case, 587 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:57,960 the scales of justice cannot always be evenly weighed. 588 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,960 And I must learn, for once... 589 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,960 ..To live with the imbalance. 590 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:09,320 I think it genuinely does have the most ingenious 591 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:13,160 solution to a mystery in the whole of detective fiction. 592 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,960 I've never come across a cleverer solution. 593 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,960 'Today, anyone travelling on the Orient Express 594 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,960 'is transported back to the romance and intrigue 595 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:25,960 'of Agatha's iconic story. 596 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,960 'It seems author and train will be forever linked.' 597 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,960 If I said to anybody, 'What's the most romantic train in the world?' 598 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,960 They would say, 'The Orient Express.' 599 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:37,160 Everybody knows the Orient Express. 600 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,960 Pleasingly, I haven't been on a train journey 601 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,960 where a murder has occurred. That's a nice thing. 602 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,960 But I have, been, indeed, on this train. 603 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:49,960 There is a sense of excitement, event about it. 604 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,960 By the 1930s, Agatha Christie was on her way 605 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,960 to being a national treasure. 606 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:57,960 Her ingenious plots had secured her place 607 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,960 as the most popular crime writer in the country. 608 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,320 But she was forever curious about worlds beyond our shores. 609 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:05,960 When the Middle East beckoned, 610 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,000 she would discover one of her most celebrated mysteries ever. 611 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,960 'Agatha Christie had a lifelong passion for archaeology. 612 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,960 'Historian Bettany Hughes, has come to the British Museum to explore 613 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,000 'the role the past played in her writing.' 614 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,320 I think archaeology really appeals to Agatha for two reasons. 615 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,160 First, because she is actually very precise, 616 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,960 and she likes to arrange evidence in a particular way. 617 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,960 But she is also a storyteller and someone who loves solving mysteries, 618 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:38,800 so the fact that archaeology is a science where you have to find 619 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,960 the answers by jigsaw puzzling together the clues, 620 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:42,960 I'm sure would have appealed to her. 621 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:44,960 I think she was really a frustrated archaeologist 622 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:46,960 through most of her life. 623 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,960 'In 1930, aged nearly 40, 624 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:53,000 'Agatha travelled to Iraq to attend an excavation.' 625 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:58,960 How brilliant that someone who liked to dig around in people's lives 626 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:03,000 and their behaviours went to dig around in people's past lives 627 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:04,960 and their past behaviours. 628 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:09,640 'It's here that she met archaeologist, Max Mallowan. 629 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:13,160 'Within six months of meeting, they were married.' 630 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,960 So, these are ivories that were found by Max Mallowan in Iraq. 631 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:24,640 We know that she adored helping Max find and restore them. 632 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:28,960 So, she worked kind of as an archaeologist by day, 633 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,960 and then by night, she would sit and write her books. 634 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:35,960 'Before long, The desert lands of the Middle East 635 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:37,960 'became the settings for Agatha's stories. 636 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:39,960 'Murder In Mesopotamia 637 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:43,640 'brought Poirot to an archaeological dig in Iraq.' 638 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:52,960 You'd have been a good archaeologist, Mr Poirot. 639 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:55,960 You have the gift... 640 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,320 ..Of recreating the past. 641 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:03,000 He actually describes his work as being like archaeology. 642 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,640 Burrowing around, trying to find the truth and trying to find clues 643 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:08,960 and piece them together. 644 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,960 Agatha herself talks about putting aside debris 645 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:13,960 to find the shining truth. 646 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:18,960 That is what both authors and archaeologists do. 647 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:21,960 Facts, Hastings. Facts. 648 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:25,960 Those are the cobbles that make up the road along which we travel. 649 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:31,960 'It wasn't all work for Agatha and Max when they travelled. 650 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:35,160 'During a holiday to Egypt, they boarded a steamboat 651 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:36,960 'and travelled down the Nile.' 652 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:40,960 I have done a trip down the Nile on a boat. 653 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:43,640 I have done one of those trips. 654 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:46,960 And it is one of the most interesting, 655 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,960 romantic things you can do. 656 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:51,960 I've been on that boat down the Nile. 657 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:56,160 I've done it, and it's exhilarating. You know? 658 00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:58,960 You're down the Nile, you pass the Valley Of The Kings, 659 00:34:58,960 --> 00:34:59,960 you get a shiver over you. 660 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:03,960 'Agatha's slow boat through Egypt became the inspiration 661 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,000 'for one of her most enduring mysteries. 662 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:07,960 Death on the Nile.' 663 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,960 There's something about this place. Don't you think? 664 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,960 Something unsettling one can't quite resist. Oui. 665 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:22,960 For Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, to go down the Nile... 666 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:24,960 ..Must have been absolutely fascinating. 667 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:26,960 She will have looked at those characters, 668 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:29,960 like on The Orient Express, who were on that boat and thought, 669 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,960 'Oh, my goodness. There's a murder mystery here.' 670 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,960 You refuse to help, Monsieur Poirot, and look what happens. 671 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:38,960 But this is not of my making, Madame. 672 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:40,960 But how could she have known that we would be on the boat? 673 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:42,960 But if you are suggesting... 674 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,320 I'm suggesting nothing, Monsieur, but I will tell you this. 675 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,960 Everybody hates me. OK? I'm surrounded by enemies. 676 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,000 The reason Agatha Christie is such a genius 677 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,960 is she gets the three essentials right. 678 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,960 Plot, character, location. 679 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,320 She's clear about all of them. And the locations are wonderful. 680 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,960 'Death On The Nile and Murder On The Orient Express 681 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,160 'secured Agatha Christie's reputation as a writer 682 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,960 'who could take Poirot and fans 683 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,960 'on captivating journeys into unknown lands.' 684 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,960 'But which was her favourite Poirot story?' 685 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,960 A lady wouldn't say easily. Oh, I should think... 686 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:28,960 ..I think it's very good for fans... 687 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,960 Perhaps the Murder On The Orient Express. 688 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:33,960 'As Agatha's success reached new heights, 689 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:38,320 'she turned more and more to the familiar settings of Devon and home, 690 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,160 'where both she and Poirot would uncover 691 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,960 'some of the most shocking murders of their careers.' 692 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:45,960 QUIETLY: Is that what you have feared has happened, Madame? 693 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:47,960 Le mort? 694 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:53,960 Well, you don't mean... You don't mean... Oh, Marlene. 695 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,960 Agatha Christie found inspiration wherever she went, 696 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,960 be it on a train journey through Europe or a holiday on the Nile. 697 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:16,000 But nothing provided more material 698 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,960 for her extraordinary imagination than the familiar places of home. 699 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:23,960 It was here, in Britain, that she was able to bring Poirot 700 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:24,960 directly into her life. 701 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:30,960 'In 1938, Agatha Christie bought Greenway. 702 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,480 'A gorgeous house on the banks of the River Dart In Devon.' 703 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,960 She had the money to look for a house, and famously, 704 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,960 she came down here one day and virtually bought it on sight. 705 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:44,960 It is the most amazing place. 706 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,960 It is also an incredibly private place. 707 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,960 And it was her happy place for a very long time. 708 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:54,960 A great, Georgian house, about 1780 or 90. 709 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:59,960 Woods sweeping down to the Dart below. The perfect house. 710 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:02,960 My wonderful and most beautiful possession. 711 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:05,320 'Agatha's great-grandson, James Pritchard, 712 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:09,960 'remembers Agatha and husband Max spending cherished time with family 713 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,960 and close friends at Greenway.' 714 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,960 They used to come down here during the holidays in the summer, 715 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,960 and they would entertain quite widely. 716 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,960 There's a tennis court, a putting green on the top, 717 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:23,960 and probably boating on the river, and a lot of eating and drinking. 718 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:24,960 It was a big part of my childhood. 719 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,960 We used to come down here for weeks at a time in the summer. 720 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:30,960 I mean, in some ways, we kind of never left, 721 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:31,960 because there was so much to do. 722 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:35,960 'Agatha took Poirot along with her to Greenway, 723 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:38,960 'setting some of his most memorable adventures 724 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:40,960 'in the grounds of her idyllic home. 725 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,960 'And the book which was most clearly influenced by it 726 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:44,960 'was Dead Man's Folly.' 727 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:48,960 I have been admiring the house. I thank you. 728 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,960 It was built by my husband's great-grandfather. 729 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,960 'When the ITV Poirot series came to make the screen version, 730 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:57,960 the obvious place to film it was here.' 731 00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:59,960 To have Agatha Christie's home, Greenway, 732 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:04,960 featuring in an episode of Poirot was the ultimate coming together 733 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,800 of the creator and the creation. 734 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:11,960 'Not only did Agatha bring Poirot into her real life, 735 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,960 'but she also found a way of putting herself directly into his stories 736 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,960 'when she created the character of crime writer, Ariadne Oliver.' 737 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:23,960 ARIADNE: 'Come at once. Nasse House, Devon. Need help. Urgent. 738 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:25,960 'Ariadne Oliver.' 739 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:28,320 As far as I can tell... 740 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:32,960 ..She sort of wrote Ariadne as a sendup of herself. 741 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:34,960 This is also a wonderful antithesis to Poirot, 742 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,960 that he's so anal and she's not. 743 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:38,960 Hello, Poirot. 744 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:42,960 What is wrong, Madame? Nothing's wrong. 745 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:44,960 I just wanted to see if someone would come. 746 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:46,960 Ariadne is very messy. 747 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:48,960 She's always sitting there, crunching apples 748 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:50,320 and having feminine intuition. 749 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:53,960 She's a very funny character. 750 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:58,960 That toing and froing between them was just such fun. 751 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,000 She was so rude to him, which was great. 752 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,960 POIROT WINCES 753 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:06,640 What's the matter? SIGHS 754 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,160 It is my feet. They cause me the pain. 755 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:12,960 It's those silly patent leather shoes of yours. 756 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:14,960 Ludicrous for the country. 757 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,960 It's the yin and the yang together, and that's why they get on. 758 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:20,800 That's why they tolerate each other. 759 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,960 Now, why don't you get yourself a nice pair of those buckskin ones 760 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:24,960 with the rubber soles? 761 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:29,160 Madame, cher Madame, I do not know that I agree with you. 762 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:33,960 Her sparring with Poirot always makes me think that actually, 763 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:35,960 it's Agatha Christie talking to her main character 764 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:37,960 and it's a dialogue between the two of them. 765 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,960 'At the outbreak of World War Two, 766 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:43,960 Agatha was forced to give up Greenway to the US Admiralty. 767 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:47,960 While husband, Max, joined the war effort in Africa, 768 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:50,800 Agatha moved out of the countryside and into London, 769 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:51,960 where new fashions and new styles 770 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,320 had transformed the face of the capital.' 771 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:59,800 'She lived in this cutting-edge building in the north of the city, 772 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:01,960 'known as the Isokon.' 773 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,000 'Cultural historian, Gus Caseley-Hayford, 774 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,960 'has come to take a look around.' 775 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:11,960 Agatha grows up in gorgeous country houses. 776 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:16,960 Traditional sort of architecture. But this? This was a departure. 777 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:19,960 This was her stepping into another world. 778 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,960 'One of the flats in the Isokon has been restored 779 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,960 'to the style and layout that Agatha would have known.' 780 00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:29,960 Just look at this. Isn't it... 781 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:30,960 ..Exquisite? 782 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:35,960 And for a writer and someone like Agatha, somewhere like this, 783 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:36,960 quiet... 784 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,960 ..Contemplative, beautiful, 785 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:43,960 it would be the perfect place to retreat in the centre of London. 786 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:48,800 'Britain in the 1930s had undergone a style revolution, 787 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:50,960 'and Art Deco was all the rage.' 788 00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:55,960 It's a gorgeous period of architecture and design. 789 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,320 It's cool, it's sleek. 790 00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:01,960 Beautiful buildings with elegant silhouettes. 791 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:06,960 It's a style that absolutely, we would associate with luxury. 792 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:08,960 With sophistication. 793 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:14,960 'In Agatha's stories, Poirot's London flat, Whitehaven Mansions, 794 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:16,960 'perfectly embodies the Art Deco style.' 795 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:21,960 There's a quality, there's a style about Art Deco, 796 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:25,960 that runs through all of Agatha Christie's adaptations. 797 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:29,960 And that's one of the things I really do love about that look, 798 00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:31,160 that style of that design. 799 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:33,800 It catches that era, the 20s and 30s. 800 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:35,960 I just think it's absolutely stunning. 801 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,960 'Florin Court, an iconic 1930s building in central London, 802 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:42,000 'doubled up as Whitehaven Mansions 803 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,000 'when the stories were brought to television.' 804 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:50,320 Interestingly, we went to quite a lot of Art Deco houses, 805 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:52,960 usually in and around London... 806 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,960 ..Where the owners who were passionate about Art Deco 807 00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:01,960 had them perfectly preserved in the period. 808 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:02,960 It was a joy to be in those places. 809 00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:07,960 What Agatha Christie allowed to flourish in her pieces was style. 810 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:12,000 We were constantly reminded of the time and the era 811 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:17,960 that she was writing about, because of the visuals, what we saw. 812 00:43:17,960 --> 00:43:19,960 Art Deco was everywhere. 813 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:23,960 Because of television design and the beauty of some of those costumes 814 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:28,960 and set designs, I think he'll always inhabit that period for us. 815 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:35,960 I think that speaks to Poirot and his character. 816 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:40,160 We naturally feel like he would have inhabited 817 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:42,960 a kind of Art Deco environment. 818 00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:48,960 And those clean lines, these gorgeous shapes. That clarity. 819 00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:54,960 That represented who Hercule Poirot was and his way of thinking. 820 00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:57,960 There is, with Poirot, precision that makes him 821 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:01,960 look almost like an Art Deco work of art. 822 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:03,000 What do you make of that? 823 00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:08,960 I do not know what to make of it, Madame. 824 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:09,960 Not symmetrical enough for you? 825 00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:15,960 'This new style was not only confined to the capital. 826 00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:17,960 'In Devon, Agatha's home county, 827 00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:21,960 'Burgh Island Hotel is a beacon of this new aesthetic.' 828 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:27,640 It is very, very beautiful island, and a beautiful Art Deco hotel, 829 00:44:27,640 --> 00:44:29,960 all in its original form. 830 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:33,960 It's an iconic Devon landmark. Famously, it's cut off by the tide. 831 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:34,960 It's actually completely isolated. 832 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:37,960 And that, I think, just has a certain mystique about it. 833 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:42,160 'Agatha Christie was a regular visitor to Burgh Island 834 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:46,320 'in the 1930s. Current owner, Giles Fuchs, 835 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:47,960 'has restored the glamour and opulence 836 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:49,960 'that she would have been familiar with.' 837 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:52,960 Burgh Island Hotel is famous for being Art Deco, 838 00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:54,960 and has now one of the largest collections 839 00:44:54,960 --> 00:44:56,960 of Art Deco furniture in the country. 840 00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:59,960 Agatha Christie would have recognised this room. 841 00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:02,960 She would have walked in and seen the magnificent Peacock Dome, 842 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:04,960 which is the centrepiece of the Palm Court. 843 00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:09,960 'For Agatha, the island was more than just a luxurious indulgence. 844 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:11,960 'It was also a writing retreat.' 845 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:13,960 This is the beach house, 846 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:16,960 where Agatha Christie wrote some of her novels. 847 00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:21,960 The island changes, as we know, from the summer and the Riviera feel, 848 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:24,960 to the winter and the ominous, sinister feel that it has. 849 00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:27,960 I imagine her imagination would run wild 850 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,960 with the views that she was looking at. 851 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:34,960 I like to imagine her sitting, looking out of the window 852 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:40,160 and just letting it all come to her. As the tide came in, 853 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:41,960 the story came in. 854 00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:43,960 I can see her thinking... 855 00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:45,960 ..'Page one.' 856 00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,960 'It was here that Agatha wrote Evil Under The Sun. 857 00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:54,960 'A murder mystery set on an island, cut off from the mainland. 858 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:57,960 'And when it came to adapting the book for the ITV series, 859 00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:00,960 'there was no better location. 860 00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:04,960 Burgh Island is one of the most extraordinary, romantic, 861 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,960 amazing places to set a detective story. 862 00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:12,960 This is the hotel. It is on an island. 863 00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:15,960 Oh, don't worry, Poirot, you won't have to go on a boat. 864 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:17,960 There's that to carry you over the causeway. 865 00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:20,960 All aboard, please, we leave in a minute. 866 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:23,960 You have these different people coming from different places 867 00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:25,960 with different motivations and different secrets, 868 00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:26,960 and they all come together. 869 00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:28,800 Hercule Poirot. 870 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:32,480 This is my associate, Captain Hastings. How do you do? 871 00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:33,960 Hercule Poirot, the famous detective. 872 00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:37,960 Ah, that'll certainly liven things up. 873 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:41,960 When I first read the book, I knew where Poirot was sitting, 874 00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:45,800 looking at the swimmers in the pool, in the mermaid pool. 875 00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:49,960 And where the coves were, of course, where the murder took place. 876 00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:52,640 She's very good at maximising all the features 877 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:54,960 of whatever setting she has chosen. 878 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:56,960 It's the fact that there are caves 879 00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:59,960 where people can hide near the beach. 880 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:04,960 She just uses all the assets of the island and beach-side setting. 881 00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:08,960 And you've got built in, this idea that at certain times of the day, 882 00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:13,960 a lock is closed and the island becomes almost a prison. 883 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:15,960 You can't get off it, because the tide has come up. 884 00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:18,960 That is wonderful for a murder mystery story. 885 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:22,960 But surely, no one could think of murder in such a beautiful place? 886 00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:24,960 No, no, no, Hastings. 887 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:29,960 It is romantic, yes? 888 00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:34,960 It is peaceful. 889 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:37,960 The sun shines, the sea, it is blue. 890 00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,960 But you forget, mon ami, there is evil everywhere under the sun. 891 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:46,000 Throughout her career, Agatha Christie had taken the people 892 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:49,960 and places of her life and recreated them on the page. 893 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:53,960 But as the 1950s got underway, new forms of storytelling arose, 894 00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:57,960 and Agatha would soon see Poirot go from script to screen. 895 00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:07,960 Agatha Christie was a voracious reader with a deep love 896 00:48:07,960 --> 00:48:09,800 for the written word. 897 00:48:09,800 --> 00:48:12,960 When her Poirot stories were first taken from a page 898 00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:16,960 and adapted into movies, she wasn't too impressed. 899 00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:18,960 But her fans thought differently. 900 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:22,960 Because Poirot, with his dashing moustache and crisp suits, 901 00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:24,960 worked like a dream on the silver screen. 902 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:32,960 'Over the years, a number of leading actors have interpreted 903 00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:35,960 'the iconic detective for the stage and screen.' 904 00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:40,960 It's always nice to see Agatha come to life in a different way, 905 00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:43,960 in a different director, in a different script, different actors. 906 00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:46,960 For me, Poirot is iconic. He's one of the most iconic detectives. 907 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,960 I think when you hear the name and you see his look, 908 00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:52,960 it's established all over the world. We recognise him for that. 909 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,960 'Screen depictions of the Belgian detective go back nearly a century. 910 00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:01,800 'Stephen Fry is going to take a look through the archives 911 00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:03,960 with film historian, Mark Aldridge.' 912 00:49:03,960 --> 00:49:07,960 I'm looking forward to lots of different cuts of moustache. 913 00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:09,960 'And some of them took surprising liberties 914 00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:11,960 'with Agatha's iconic character, 915 00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:15,960 'like this 1934 version of Lord Edgware Dies. 916 00:49:15,960 --> 00:49:17,960 Regarding that letter Lady Edgware never received, 917 00:49:17,960 --> 00:49:19,960 there are four solutions to their problem. 918 00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:23,960 The first, that it was lost in the post. 919 00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:28,480 The second, that Lady Edgware was lying 920 00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:30,960 when she said she never received it. 921 00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:31,960 CHUCKLING 922 00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:35,960 Wow. Well, a naked, a bald upper lip, which is a huge shock. 923 00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:37,960 Clearly, you can imagine Agatha Christie, 924 00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:40,960 who wasn't always very pleased with adaptations of her work, 925 00:49:40,960 --> 00:49:43,800 would have found that rather surprising. 926 00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:48,800 'In 1974 came the first truly great 927 00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:50,960 cinematic adaptation of a Poirot story, 928 00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:53,960 with Albert Finney playing the lead role 929 00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:55,960 in Murder On The Orient Express.' 930 00:49:55,960 --> 00:49:57,960 Oh, I love this scene. 931 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:07,960 Observe, memorise your mind with what it says. 932 00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:11,960 A-I-S-Y A-R-M-S. What does that mean? 933 00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:13,000 WHISPERS: Daisy Armstrong! 934 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:18,960 It means... We know the true identity of Mr Ratchett. 935 00:50:20,320 --> 00:50:22,960 It's a masterpiece. It's a very great film. 936 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:24,960 It has a huge cast of massive stars, 937 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:29,960 and Albert Finney is a magnificent Poirot. His fury, his passion! 938 00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:32,000 It's just wonderful to behold. 939 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,160 'Four years later, 940 00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:37,960 Poirot would be played by Peter Ustinov in Death On The Nile.' 941 00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:39,960 Do forgive me for butting in, 942 00:50:39,960 --> 00:50:43,960 but I've had a bet with my daughter here that you're Hercules Porridge, 943 00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:45,960 the famous French sleuth. Not quite. 944 00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:48,960 I'm Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian sleuth. 945 00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:50,960 I told you, Rosalie. 946 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:55,960 There's only one Monsieur Poirot in the world. He's unmistakable. 947 00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:59,960 Everybody has got their specific Poirot that they love. 948 00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:04,000 But Peter Ustinov, to me, he will always be my one, 949 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:07,960 cos he sort of like a grandfather figure. 950 00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:10,960 He's just, like, this lovely, fat man. 951 00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:13,960 He's kind, and he's wise and he's knowing. 952 00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:17,800 I'm very sorry to see you here, Madamoiselle. 953 00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:19,960 Forgive me for saying, 954 00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:23,960 but you are embarking on a hazardous journey in troubled waters. 955 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:27,480 To face who knows what currents of misfortune. 956 00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:29,960 So, for some people involved in this film, 957 00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:31,960 when they saw Peter Ustinov, 958 00:51:31,960 --> 00:51:35,000 the reaction was that didn't seem to be Poirot, 959 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:37,960 to which Ustinov replied, 'Well, it is now.' 960 00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:40,960 LAUGHS I don't think that, er... 961 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:44,960 ..Agatha Christie really had a very detailed view of Poirot, 962 00:51:44,960 --> 00:51:47,960 except that he was bald, which of course, I am, too, and small, 963 00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:49,960 which goes without saying. 964 00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:53,960 People always talk about whether X version of Poirot is right, 965 00:51:53,960 --> 00:51:56,960 or Y is right, and my answer to that is that there isn't a right, 966 00:51:56,960 --> 00:51:58,960 because she never drew him. 967 00:52:00,960 --> 00:52:03,960 'Peter Ustinov would prove a popular Poirot with cinema audiences, 968 00:52:03,960 --> 00:52:08,320 'taking up the role again for Evil Under The Sun in 1982.' 969 00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:13,960 'Nearly 40 years later, Sir Kenneth Branagh has played Poirot 970 00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:17,960 'on remakes of Murder On The Orient Express and Death On The Nile.' 971 00:52:17,960 --> 00:52:21,000 I can only see the world as it should be. 972 00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:22,960 And when it is not, 973 00:52:22,960 --> 00:52:27,640 the imperfection stands out like the nose in the middle of a face. 974 00:52:27,640 --> 00:52:30,800 'Agatha's Great-grandson, James Prichard, 975 00:52:30,800 --> 00:52:32,960 was involved in bringing this latest adaptation to life.' 976 00:52:32,960 --> 00:52:36,960 I remember when I first talked to Ken Branagh about playing Poirot, 977 00:52:36,960 --> 00:52:38,160 and he very firmly said, 978 00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:40,960 'I think there are certainly two things that Poirot has. 979 00:52:40,960 --> 00:52:43,320 He has the moustache and he has the Belgian accent.' 980 00:52:43,320 --> 00:52:45,960 Poirot hides behind this moustache. 981 00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:47,320 He provokes with this moustache, 982 00:52:47,320 --> 00:52:49,960 he is dismissed because of this moustache. 983 00:52:49,960 --> 00:52:52,960 And he, as a result of being dismissed in this way, 984 00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:54,960 puts people off their guard 985 00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:56,960 and he has a chance to be a better detective. 986 00:52:58,960 --> 00:53:00,960 When we started talking about putting together 987 00:53:00,960 --> 00:53:02,960 the cast for Murder On The Orient Express, again, 988 00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:05,960 you are kind of like the kid in the sweetie shop, 989 00:53:05,960 --> 00:53:08,960 with all these amazing actors coming in. 990 00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:11,000 You had your Judi Denches, you obviously had Ken, 991 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:13,960 and then you had Daisy Ridley. 992 00:53:14,960 --> 00:53:17,960 'And the most recent Agatha Christie adaptation 993 00:53:17,960 --> 00:53:20,960 is just as thrilling as those that have gone before it.' 994 00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:25,960 I have investigated many crimes. But this... 995 00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:31,480 ..Has altered the shape of my soul. 996 00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:38,960 'Outside of the cinema, Poirot's also a familiar face on TV. 997 00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,960 'But few people know that the Belgian detective 998 00:53:41,960 --> 00:53:44,960 'made his TV debut in an American one-off pilot, 999 00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:48,960 seen here for the first time in almost 60 years.' 1000 00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:51,960 Today, however, Mrs Davenheim called in Hercule Poirot, 1001 00:53:51,960 --> 00:53:54,960 the internationally famous private investigator. 1002 00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:57,960 'Poirot didn't make it to a full series in America. 1003 00:53:57,960 --> 00:54:00,800 'But in Britain, he certainly did, 1004 00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:03,960 'when David Suchet became the only actor to portray Poirot 1005 00:54:03,960 --> 00:54:06,960 'in every story written by Agatha Christie 1006 00:54:06,960 --> 00:54:08,960 'in the long-running TV series. 1007 00:54:10,960 --> 00:54:11,960 PHONE RINGS 1008 00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:14,960 Hercule Poirot. 1009 00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:18,960 Hercule Poirot is, for me, much more than the character 1010 00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:25,960 on the written page. Hercule Poirot, for me, almost is a real person. 1011 00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:28,960 The first time I saw him on the set, 1012 00:54:28,960 --> 00:54:31,960 I really was quite surprised at the transformation. 1013 00:54:31,960 --> 00:54:34,960 Because, as is well known, David plays the character, 1014 00:54:34,960 --> 00:54:37,960 or maintains the character, even when the camera isn't turning. 1015 00:54:37,960 --> 00:54:40,640 AS POIROT: Make sure this does not droop a little bit. 1016 00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:42,960 Yes. Yes, that is better. 1017 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:48,960 My Poirot is David Suchet, because he was so beautiful and elegant, 1018 00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:49,960 and fey, and just wonderful. 1019 00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:52,960 And I got to do a story of Agatha Christie's with him, 1020 00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:54,960 which was glorious. 1021 00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:56,960 Also, your skill. It gave you away. 1022 00:54:57,960 --> 00:55:00,960 Such artistry, lavished upon an object of such hate? 1023 00:55:00,960 --> 00:55:02,960 No, I did hate her. 1024 00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:04,960 My God, I let off a lot of steam stabbing that thing, 1025 00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:07,160 I can tell you, thinking of her. 1026 00:55:07,160 --> 00:55:10,960 When I was adapting the series, his pomposity, his self value, 1027 00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:16,960 his opinion of himself was always done with tongue in cheek. 1028 00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:18,960 And again, David Suchet did it so brilliantly. 1029 00:55:18,960 --> 00:55:20,960 That sense of, 'I am the best detective in the world.' 1030 00:55:20,960 --> 00:55:22,960 The murder that took place here 1031 00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:25,960 was the work of the mind that was brilliant. 1032 00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:28,960 But there was one thing that the killer did not expect... 1033 00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:32,960 ..The mind of Hercule Poirot. 1034 00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:37,960 After it started going out, it gained a very large audience. 1035 00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:39,160 We were well aware of that. 1036 00:55:39,160 --> 00:55:41,960 What we weren't aware of was the longevity of it. 1037 00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:44,960 The fact that it's playing all over the world, 1038 00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:45,960 as we speak. 1039 00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:49,960 'As new forms of media have arisen, 1040 00:55:49,960 --> 00:55:52,960 'Poirot has been made accessible to each new generation. 1041 00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:56,160 'Star of graphic novels, a computer game... 1042 00:55:56,160 --> 00:55:58,960 This case is far from being solved. 1043 00:55:58,960 --> 00:56:01,960 '..And even a Japanese animation. 1044 00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:05,800 'With so many Poirots across the decades, across the globe, 1045 00:56:05,800 --> 00:56:09,320 the question remains, what makes Poirot, Poirot? 1046 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:12,960 The physicality. So, everything is very held in. 1047 00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:16,960 The way he walks is very small, very little steps. 1048 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:20,960 I think Poirot, for me, is not the moustache. I think it's his size. 1049 00:56:20,960 --> 00:56:22,960 Just the weight and the space that he takes up. 1050 00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:27,960 It's the monocle and it's the hair, it's the rotundness. 1051 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:30,960 As soon as you see an image of Poirot, you know who that is. 1052 00:56:30,960 --> 00:56:33,960 That's a testament to Agatha Christie's characterisation. 1053 00:56:33,960 --> 00:56:38,960 The name, the look, the vice. He's all there. 1054 00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:44,160 Big Poirots, small Poirots, thin Poirots, fat Poirots. 1055 00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:46,960 We've seen them all. But one thing is certain. 1056 00:56:46,960 --> 00:56:50,960 He needs a Belgian accent, and a finely groomed moustache. 1057 00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:53,960 AS POIROT: Not bad. 1058 00:56:53,960 --> 00:56:55,960 And I'm working on the Belgian accent. 1059 00:57:04,960 --> 00:57:07,960 By the 1950s, Agatha Christie had achieved more success 1060 00:57:07,960 --> 00:57:10,960 than she could ever have dreamt of. 1061 00:57:10,960 --> 00:57:12,160 But as she entered her twilight years, 1062 00:57:12,160 --> 00:57:16,960 it was the simple pleasures of home she returned to again and again. 1063 00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:20,960 Family, friends and food. A lot of food! 1064 00:57:22,960 --> 00:57:27,960 'In her Devon home of Greenway, on the banks of the River Dart, 1065 00:57:27,960 --> 00:57:30,960 Agatha would regularly host long, indulgent meals. 1066 00:57:32,960 --> 00:57:35,960 'It is now owned by the National Trust, and for James Pritchard, 1067 00:57:35,960 --> 00:57:41,960 'returning to the old family home evokes fond childhood memories.' 1068 00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:46,960 Over there, there is this snake that props open the door, 1069 00:57:46,960 --> 00:57:48,960 and I remember that vividly as a child. 1070 00:57:49,960 --> 00:57:51,000 I seem to remember being here, 1071 00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:54,960 and we definitely had five or six courses in here. 1072 00:57:54,960 --> 00:57:58,960 To be honest with you, it feels like I should be sitting down to lunch! 1073 00:57:58,960 --> 00:57:59,960 LAUGHS 1074 00:57:59,960 --> 00:58:02,320 'James' wish is about to be granted. 1075 00:58:02,320 --> 00:58:05,320 'Agatha Christie fan and Michelin starred chef Marcus Wareing 1076 00:58:05,320 --> 00:58:08,000 'wants to learn more about the author's love of food, 1077 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:10,960 'so he's invited James and actress, Amanda Abbington, 1078 00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:12,960 'to his restaurant in Knightsbridge.' 1079 00:58:14,480 --> 00:58:15,960 I find the food element quite fascinating. 1080 00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:18,960 It seemed like it does play a massive part in her life. 1081 00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:21,960 What sort of food did Agatha like? What was her favourite? 1082 00:58:21,960 --> 00:58:23,960 There was quite a lot of rich food, 1083 00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:26,960 and there was certainly quite a lot of cream involved, Both on scones. 1084 00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:29,960 But she also famously drank cream... LAUGHS 1085 00:58:29,960 --> 00:58:31,960 ..And she had this enormous mug. 1086 00:58:31,960 --> 00:58:34,960 And I'm telling you, it's nearly a litre. 1087 00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:36,960 She used to drink cream from it. What?! Yeah. 1088 00:58:36,960 --> 00:58:40,960 It's got in gold letters around the side, 'Don't be greedy.' 1089 00:58:40,960 --> 00:58:43,000 LAUGHTER It's pretty good. 1090 00:58:43,000 --> 00:58:45,480 That's brilliant. 1091 00:58:45,480 --> 00:58:47,160 'One Of the biggest events at Greenway 1092 00:58:47,160 --> 00:58:49,960 'was Agatha's 80th birthday party. 1093 00:58:49,960 --> 00:58:51,960 'And Marcus wants to recreate the main course.' 1094 00:58:51,960 --> 00:58:53,960 Well, there is a dish here that I'm intrigued by, 1095 00:58:53,960 --> 00:58:55,960 and that is the lobster a la creme. 1096 00:58:55,960 --> 00:58:57,960 This is a classic French dish. 1097 00:58:57,960 --> 00:59:00,960 But it is incredibly rich and luxurious. 1098 00:59:00,960 --> 00:59:02,960 An Agatha had the cream, clearly. 1099 00:59:03,960 --> 00:59:07,480 'Marcus has devised his own version of Agatha's birthday dish 1100 00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:09,960 with an ocean of cream for the lobster.' 1101 00:59:09,960 --> 00:59:13,320 Dig in. What would Poirot think of a dish like this? 1102 00:59:13,320 --> 00:59:16,960 I wonder. He'd quite like the symmetry of the split lobster. 1103 00:59:16,960 --> 00:59:18,960 I think that would have been all right. 1104 00:59:18,960 --> 00:59:20,960 I think he might have found it a bit messy. 1105 00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:22,960 It reminded me, he always put the napkin... 1106 00:59:22,960 --> 00:59:24,800 LAUGHS 1107 00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:25,960 ..It was always up there, wasn't it? 1108 00:59:25,960 --> 00:59:27,960 Sort of spread out as far as he could get it. 1109 00:59:27,960 --> 00:59:30,960 So any splashes, they weren't gonna land on him. 1110 00:59:30,960 --> 00:59:33,960 If Hercule Poirot is gonna be at dinner, don't go! 1111 00:59:33,960 --> 00:59:35,960 Do not go there. 1112 00:59:35,960 --> 00:59:40,960 Chances are, he'd be so irritating to sit next to anyway, wouldn't he? 1113 00:59:40,960 --> 00:59:42,960 Dabbing his mouth, checking the size of his eggs. 1114 00:59:42,960 --> 00:59:44,960 Seeing if the carrots are the same length. 1115 00:59:44,960 --> 00:59:48,160 'Food in Agatha Christie's stories could be deadly 1116 00:59:48,160 --> 00:59:50,960 'as well as delicious.' 1117 00:59:50,960 --> 00:59:52,000 Ooh! 1118 00:59:54,960 --> 00:59:55,960 Ow. 1119 00:59:55,960 --> 00:59:58,960 Madame, you will forgive me, but I do not think that tonight, 1120 00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:01,640 I will require the dinner. 1121 01:00:01,640 --> 01:00:05,160 It would be quite scary to actually sit down and eat a meal 1122 01:00:05,160 --> 01:00:06,960 with any of Agatha Christie's characters, 1123 01:00:06,960 --> 01:00:08,960 whether you're the murderer or not. 1124 01:00:08,960 --> 01:00:11,320 'Marcus Wareing wants to explore this darker side 1125 01:00:11,320 --> 01:00:12,960 to Agatha's culinary world.' 1126 01:00:12,960 --> 01:00:16,960 So, in this particular book, A Murder Is Announced, 1127 01:00:16,960 --> 01:00:18,960 there is a description of a chocolate cake 1128 01:00:18,960 --> 01:00:20,960 called delicious death cake. 1129 01:00:20,960 --> 01:00:25,960 It's basically described as, 'Rich, rich, and probably even more rich.' 1130 01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:27,960 'And it probably will kill you.' 1131 01:00:27,960 --> 01:00:29,960 'Marcus has created his own interpretation 1132 01:00:29,960 --> 01:00:31,800 'of Agatha's death cake, 1133 01:00:31,800 --> 01:00:33,960 'with an appropriately fatal quantity of chocolate.' 1134 01:00:33,960 --> 01:00:37,000 That's gorgeous. Loosen your belts! 1135 01:00:37,000 --> 01:00:39,960 LAUGHTER It's gonna get messy... 1136 01:00:39,960 --> 01:00:41,960 LAUGHTER ..From here on in. 1137 01:00:45,960 --> 01:00:50,960 Oh, that's incredible! That is so good! 1138 01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:55,960 That is like the most chocolate I have ever had, all at once, 1139 01:00:55,960 --> 01:00:56,960 at the same time! 1140 01:00:56,960 --> 01:01:00,960 Agatha Christie, the Queen of crime and the Queen of puddings. 1141 01:01:02,960 --> 01:01:06,960 'Food, for Agatha Christie, was a way connecting with family.' 1142 01:01:06,960 --> 01:01:09,480 ALL: Cheers. To Agatha. 1143 01:01:09,480 --> 01:01:12,960 'In the final years of Agatha Christie's life, 1144 01:01:12,960 --> 01:01:15,960 'much of her time spent at her Devon home, Greenway, 1145 01:01:15,960 --> 01:01:19,000 'with her husband, her daughter and grandson. 1146 01:01:19,000 --> 01:01:23,960 'She continued to produce Poirot stories in her final decade. 1147 01:01:23,960 --> 01:01:28,960 'But in 1975, she said goodbye to him when his swansong, Curtain, 1148 01:01:28,960 --> 01:01:30,960 'was published. 1149 01:01:30,960 --> 01:01:33,960 'It would go on to be the final episode of the ITV series, 1150 01:01:33,960 --> 01:01:35,960 'starring David Suchet.' 1151 01:01:39,960 --> 01:01:41,640 Hastings? 1152 01:01:41,640 --> 01:01:44,960 It was very moving to be doing the last one after, 1153 01:01:44,960 --> 01:01:46,960 I think it was 25 years. 1154 01:01:46,960 --> 01:01:48,960 POIROT BREATHES HEAVILY 1155 01:01:48,960 --> 01:01:51,960 Poirot? You're looking pretty awful. 1156 01:01:51,960 --> 01:01:55,960 Don't you think I should call a doctor? 1157 01:01:55,960 --> 01:01:56,960 What good would that do? 1158 01:01:57,960 --> 01:01:59,960 What will be, will be. 1159 01:02:00,960 --> 01:02:03,960 There was a very marked change in atmosphere on the set 1160 01:02:03,960 --> 01:02:05,960 during that one, particularly towards the end, 1161 01:02:05,960 --> 01:02:07,960 where he was doing the scenes where he's bedridden. 1162 01:02:07,960 --> 01:02:11,960 It's devastating for Hastings, but it's devastating for us, 1163 01:02:11,960 --> 01:02:13,960 because we were all saying goodbye 1164 01:02:13,960 --> 01:02:16,960 to somebody that we've known and loved. 1165 01:02:16,960 --> 01:02:19,960 My heart bleeds for you. 1166 01:02:20,960 --> 01:02:24,000 My poor, lonely Hastings. 1167 01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:28,960 Poirot. Go now, cher ami. 1168 01:02:29,960 --> 01:02:31,960 Let me rest. 1169 01:02:35,960 --> 01:02:38,320 BREATHES HEAVILY 1170 01:02:41,480 --> 01:02:43,800 'In an extraordinary real-life epilogue, 1171 01:02:43,800 --> 01:02:46,960 'Poirot received an obituary in the New York Times. 1172 01:02:46,960 --> 01:02:48,960 'He is the only fictional character 1173 01:02:48,960 --> 01:02:51,000 'to have been given this incredible accolade.' 1174 01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:53,960 Mr Poirot achieved fame as a private investigator 1175 01:02:53,960 --> 01:02:58,960 after he retired as a member of the Belgian police force in 1904. 1176 01:02:58,960 --> 01:03:01,960 His career, as chronicled in the novels of Dame Agatha Christie, 1177 01:03:01,960 --> 01:03:04,960 was one of the most illustrious in fiction. 1178 01:03:04,960 --> 01:03:07,960 At the end of his life, he was arthritic and had a bad heart. 1179 01:03:07,960 --> 01:03:11,160 He was in a wheelchair often and was carried from his bedroom 1180 01:03:11,160 --> 01:03:13,960 to the public lounge at Styles Court, 1181 01:03:13,960 --> 01:03:17,480 a Nursing Home in Essex, wearing a wig and false moustaches 1182 01:03:17,480 --> 01:03:21,480 to mask the signs of age that offended his vanity. 1183 01:03:21,480 --> 01:03:23,960 We wanted to believe he was real. 1184 01:03:23,960 --> 01:03:26,960 We thought we knew him. We do know him. 1185 01:03:26,960 --> 01:03:30,960 And the joy is, we can we can go on knowing him forever. 1186 01:03:31,960 --> 01:03:36,960 'In 1976, one year after Poirot's final story was published, 1187 01:03:36,960 --> 01:03:40,160 'Agatha Christie passed away.' 1188 01:03:40,160 --> 01:03:43,960 I think we should remember Agatha Christie as a genius. 1189 01:03:43,960 --> 01:03:47,320 As a unique figure in popular culture and literature. 1190 01:03:48,960 --> 01:03:53,320 I don't think we'll ever tire of meeting... Her characters. 1191 01:03:53,320 --> 01:03:56,960 And therefore, spending time with Agatha Christie 1192 01:03:56,960 --> 01:03:58,320 will always be a pleasure. 1193 01:03:58,320 --> 01:04:01,960 My children will be reading them, their children will be reading them. 1194 01:04:01,960 --> 01:04:02,960 She's going to go on and on. 1195 01:04:02,960 --> 01:04:04,960 I don't think she will ever be surpassed 1196 01:04:04,960 --> 01:04:07,000 as the world's greatest novelist. 1197 01:04:10,960 --> 01:04:13,640 Agatha Christie achieved a level of success 1198 01:04:13,640 --> 01:04:16,960 that possibly no other writer has ever known. 1199 01:04:16,960 --> 01:04:19,960 And she couldn't have done it without the most enduring creation, 1200 01:04:19,960 --> 01:04:20,960 Hercule Poirot. 1201 01:04:20,960 --> 01:04:24,960 For 100 years, through twisting tales of murder and intrigue, 1202 01:04:24,960 --> 01:04:28,960 they've been thrilling readers and audiences across the globe. 1203 01:04:34,960 --> 01:04:37,960 With Agatha Christie, you never know the ending. 1204 01:04:37,960 --> 01:04:43,960 So, where does this story end? Well, that's the twist. There is no end. 1205 01:04:43,960 --> 01:04:48,000 Because I think the mysterious case of Agatha Christie and Poirot 1206 01:04:48,000 --> 01:04:51,960 will remain open for many, many generations to come. 1207 01:04:51,960 --> 01:04:54,960 Subtitles by accessibility@itv.com 97917

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