Tabard Road

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Appointment With Death

David Suchet returns to his most famous role in the last of four new films, Appointment With Death, which sees the celebrated sleuth tackle a murder under the North African sun.

In this latest adaptation Suchet is joined by Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, It), John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Cold Blood), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen), Cheryl Campbell (Lewis, Spooks), Elizabeth McGovern (Once Upon A Time In America), Christina Cole (Hex, Sold), Paul Freeman (Monarch of the Glen, New Street Law), Beth Goddard (Lewis, Vital Signs), Angela Pleasence (Dr. Who), Emma Cunniffe (The Lakes), Tom Riley (Marple, Lewis), Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles) and Zoe Boyle in her first television role.

Appointment With Death will be filmed in Casablanca and El Jadida in Morocco, as well as the UK. This is the first time Poirot has been filmed outside of Britain since The Mystery of the Blue Train was filmed on the French Riviera in 2005.

In the unforgiving heat of the Syrian Desert, the eccentric English archaeologist Lord Greville Boynton (Curry) and his son Leonard (Gatiss) are seeking the final resting place of the head of John the Baptist. On the verge of this incredible discovery they are joined by Lord Boynton’s second wife, the dominating, fabulously wealthy American Lady Boynton (Campbell), shadowed as ever by their adopted American children – devastatingly handsome Raymond (Riley), put-upon Carol (Cunniffe), and their troubled younger sister Jinny (Boyle). 

Holidaying in Syria, the world famous detective Hercule Poirot (Suchet) is irresistibly drawn to the excavation, but this is soon over-shadowed when Lady Boynton is found murdered under the roasting sun and her financial empire is completely wiped out… Commissioned to find her killer by his old friend Colonel Carbury (Freeman), Poirot soon realises there is no shortage of candidates. Besides her much maligned family, the dig has attracted an unusual group of travellers which includes the witty psychiatrist Dr Gerard (Hannah), the laconic Jefferson Cope (McKay), the beautiful and resourceful Dr Sarah King (Cole), and the unconventional travel writer Dame Celia Westholme (McGovern).

As Poirot’s little grey cells begin to sing and make sense of the case, the mystery suddenly deepens when Jinny and Sister Agnieszka (Goddard), a Polish nun on pilgrimage, are attacked in the night and the Boynton family nanny suffers a devastating breakdown. Each of the suspects has a motive for killing the despised Lady Boynton, but only the little Belgian detective knows which of them arranged her Appointment with Death…

Suchet last appeared as the Belgian sleuth in four films which transmitted in 2006, the first of which, The Mystery of the Blue Train, attracted ratings which peaked at 8 million. Last year he filmed Mrs McGinty’s Dead and Cat Among the Pigeons, both of which will transmit on ITV1 along with the recently filmed Third Girl.

On Appointment With Death Steve Frost, ITV’s new Head of Continuing Series says: 

“Poirot is one of ITV’s most valued brands and Appointment with Death is a classic Agatha Christie tale of suspense, murder and intrigue. With a great supporting cast and amazing Moroccan locations the film promises to be a lavish and exciting addition to the Poirot stable.”

Of these new adaptations Phil Clymer, from Chorion Ltd says: 

“We are thrilled that ITV are continuing to show support and enthusiasm for the world’s most famous detective. We share an ambition with David Suchet that we will complete the filming of the entire Poirot library over the next few years, and that ITV will continue to be our partners in crime.”

Appointment With Death is directed by Ashley Pearce (Afterlife, The Vice), adapted by Guy Andrews (Lost In Austen, Prime Suspect) and the series producer is Karen Thrussell (Agatha Christie’s Marple).

The Poirot stories are co-produced by ITV Productions and Agatha Christie Ltd, a Chorion company, and US network WGBH. Michele Buck and Damien Timmer, of Mammoth Films, Phil Clymer of Chorion, and Rebecca Eaton of WGBH, are executive producers of Poirot, with David Suchet as associate producer. Granada International holds international distribution rights.