Hercule Poirot (radio series)

Hercule Poirot is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and short stories adapted by Michael Bakewell, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1985 and 2007. With the exception of the first two adaptations, the series stars John Moffatt as Poirot.[1]

Hercule Poirot
GenreRadio drama
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Home stationBBC Radio 4
StarringJohn Moffatt
Written byMichael Bakewell
Adapted from the works of Agatha Christie
Directed byEnyd Williams
Original release29 December 1985 (1985-12-29) –
27 August 2007 (2007-08-27)

Production

The series consists of 27 full cast radio adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories, adapted by Michael Bakewell and broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[1]

After the first adaptation, the six episode The Mystery of the Blue Train of 1985 (directed by David Johnston), all following productions were directed and produced by Enyd Williams. For Williams's first production, Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Peter Sallis played Poirot, but she recalled in The Radio Detectives that "I enjoyed very much working with Peter Sallis...but he's not a very happy person doing accents so we decided to leave it there."[2] She subsequently cast John Moffatt, a member of the Radio Drama Company, in the role and he reprised the part for a further 25 productions between 1987 and 2007.[2][3][4]

Adaptations in the series were released on CD[5] and are regularly rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra.[1] According to a press release in December 2020, Hercule Poirot episodes are one of the most requested programmes on BBC Sounds alongside Miss Marple.[6] The major omission from the series was the final Poirot novel - Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case - for which the rights proved unattainable.[7]

Cast

The main character, private detective Hercule Poirot, appears in each production and was played by John Moffatt in all the dramatisations except the first two, in which he was played by Maurice Denham and Peter Sallis respectively.[1][8]

Captain Hastings, Poirot's companion in several stories, was played by Simon Williams in Lord Edgware Dies, The ABC Murders, Peril at End House, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and Dumb Witness, and Jeremy Clyde in Murder on the Links.[1] Police detective Inspector Japp was played by Philip Jackson in The ABC Murders, Death In The Clouds, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Norman Jones in Lord Edgware Dies, and Bryan Pringle in Peril at End House.[1][9]

Crime fiction writer Ariadne Oliver was played by Stephanie Cole in Hallowe'en Party and Cards on the Table, and Julia McKenzie in Elephants Can Remember, Mrs McGinty's Dead, and Dead Man's Folly. Colonel Race, a British intelligence agent, was played by Donald Sinden in Death on the Nile and Cards on the Table.[1]

Multiple actors played different characters in separate adaptations. For instance, Donald Sinden, who played Colonel Race, also played Colonel Lacey in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. Two other examples are Mary Wimbush, who played Mrs Lorrimer in Cards on the Table and Mrs Leadbetter in Taken at the Flood, and Michael Cochrane, who played Sir Charles Cartwright in Three Act Tragedy and Sir George Stubbs in Dead Man's Folly.[1][10][11]

List of adaptations
No.TitleFirst broadcastNotes
1The Mystery of the Blue Train29 December 19856 episodes starring Maurice Denham as Poirot, directed by David Johnston.[12]
2Hercule Poirot's Christmas24 December 1986Part of a "Murder for Christmas" strand, starring Peter Sallis as Poirot, directed by Enyd Williams.[13]
3The Murder of Roger Ackroyd24 December 1987Part of a "Crime at Christmas" strand, with John Moffatt as Poirot, who reprised the role for all future episodes.[14]
4Murder on the Links15 September 1990Saturday Night Theatre[15]
5Lord Edgware Dies (a.k.a. Thirteen at Dinner)18 March 19925 episodes[16]
6Sad Cypress14 May 19925 episodes[17]
7Murder on the Orient Express28 December 19925 episodes[18]
8Hallowe'en Party30 October 1993Saturday Night Theatre[19]
9Five Little Pigs18 June 1994Saturday Night Theatre[20]
10Murder in Mesopotamia26 December 19945 episodes[21]
11Death on the Nile2 January 19975 episodes[22]
12Evil Under the Sun6 April 19985 episodes[23]
13After the Funeral28 August 1999The Saturday Play[24]
14The A.B.C. Murders22 April 2000The Saturday Play[25]
15Peril at End House20 November 20005 episodes[26]
16Appointment with Death25 August 2001The Saturday Play[27]
17Cards on the Table4 May 2002The Saturday Play[28]
18Three Act Tragedy8 July 20025 episodes[10]
19Death in the Clouds3 May 2003The Saturday Play[29]
20Taken at the Flood13 October 20035 episodes[30]
21One, Two, Buckle My Shoe30 August 20045 episodes[9]
22The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding24 December 2004Afternoon Play[31]
23The Mysterious Affair at Styles5 September 20055 episodes[32]
24Elephants Can Remember7 January 2006The Saturday Play[33]
25Mrs. McGinty's Dead3 March 20065 episodes[34]
26Dumb Witness7 December 2006Afternoon Play, 2 episodes[35]
27Dead Man's Folly6 August 20074 episodes[11]

Reception

The Sunday Times wrote in 2004 that "Radio 4...relies on the same clever but unpublicised creative trio it has had since the 1980s: John Moffatt, who plays Poirot with such finesse, Michael Bakewell, who adapts the stories with clarify and affection; and Enyd Williams, the producer and director."[36] Moffatt's portrayal of Hercule Poirot is cited in his obituaries as the definitive radio portrayal of the character.[3][4]

See also

References
  1. "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Poirot – Episode guide". BBC.
  2. "The Radio Detectives: Hercule Poirot". BBC Genome. 25 May 1999. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. "John Moffatt", The Times, 21 September 2012
  4. "John Moffatt", The Daily Telegraph, 17 September 2012 Archived copy at WebCite (27 August 2011).
  5. Hercule Poirot's greatest cases. OCLC 191816504. Retrieved 26 July 2020 – via WorldCat.
  6. "More than 1bn plays on BBC Sounds in 2020 and That Peter Crouch Podcast most popular of year". BBC Media Centre. 17 December 2020.
  7. Caroline Raphael. 'Letter: Michael Bakewell obituary', in The Guardian, 24 August, 2023
  8. "Hercule Poirot - The Mystery of the Blue Train". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  9. "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  10. "Three Act Tragedy". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  11. "Dead Man's Folly". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  12. "The Mystery of the Blue Train". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  13. "Hercule Poirot's Christmas". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  14. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  15. "Murder on the Links". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  16. "Lord Edgware Dies". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  17. "Sad Cypress". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  18. "Murder on the Orient Express". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  19. "Hallowe'en Party". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  20. "Five Little Pigs". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  21. "Murder in Mesopotamia". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  22. "Death on the Nile". BBC Genome. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  23. "Evil Under the Sun". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  24. "After the Funeral". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  25. "The ABC Murders". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  26. "Peril at End House". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  27. "Appointment With Death". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  28. "Cards on the Table". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  29. "Death in the Clouds". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  30. "Taken at the Flood". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  31. "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  32. "The Mysterious Affair at Styles". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  33. "Elephants Can Remember". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  34. "Mrs. McGinty's Dead". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  35. "Dumb Witness". BBC Genome. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  36. Donovan, Paul (19 December 2004). "Radio Waves: Paul Donovan: Corpus Christie". Sunday Times.

Hercule Poirot at BBC Online

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