Agatha Christie’s agents propose that it’s time for her to publish the manuscript she wrote thirty-five years earlier, a novel in which she finally kills off her most famous creation. And it’s not an entirely sad occasion. “That wretched little man,” she says. “He’s always been so much trouble. How is it Miss Marple has never upset me at all, not ever?” That night, who should appear at her doorstep but the wretched little man himself, Hercule Poirot? The great fictional detective and his creator proceed to play a very Christie-like game of cat and mouse for the manuscript – and for their own lives.
Acting
Peggy Ashcroft and Ian Holm verbally fencing in a tiny cottage.
Writing
Christie herself calling Poirot 'that wretched little man' — iconic.
Director
Lawrence Gordon Clark
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This aired on ITV's 'Agatha Christie's Miss Marple' series despite having zero Miss Marple — a bait-and-switch that delighted and confused British grannies nationwide.
Agatha Christie really did grow to despise Poirot, once calling him 'insufferable' and 'an egocentric creep' — Ian Holm plays him with exactly that energy, almost as parody.
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