BBC Announces New 1930s Mystery Drama The Detection Club Featuring Agatha Christie as an Amateur Sleuth

 

The BBC is bringing together three legendary names from the golden age of detective fiction for an unusual new mystery series that imagines what might happen if the writers behind famous fictional detectives were suddenly faced with real murders to solve.

Set in 1930s London, The Detection Club follows Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and G.K. Chesterton as their literary world takes an unexpected turn. After receiving a mysterious invitation, the celebrated crime writers become involved in an actual murder investigation — and soon find themselves tackling a succession of cases.

The ten-part series comes from writer and executive producer Kit Lambert, whose previous credits include Father Brown and Cooper & Fry.

What is The Detection Club about?

Against a backdrop of 1930s London, the drama introduces Christie, Sayers and Chesterton as members of a mysterious society where they develop and discuss their craft.

Their lives change when an invitation draws them into their first genuine murder case. Rather than simply creating mysteries on the page, the three writers discover that their skills can also prove surprisingly useful when confronting crimes in the real world.

According to the official synopsis, their investigations bring them into contact with D.I. Greenway, an inexperienced young police detective determined to prove himself.

His job becomes considerably more complicated once the writers become involved. Their remarkable instincts can help his investigations, but their unconventional approach can also make his work more difficult.

Creator Kit Lambert described the central idea behind the series simply: What would happen if the people responsible for some of Britain’s greatest fictional detectives were given the opportunity to investigate murders themselves?

“The Detection Club asks, ‘What if the creators of our greatest fictional detectives had the chance to solve murders themselves?’” Lambert said.

He added that the drama is intended as a celebration of Christie, Sayers and Chesterton, drawing inspiration from their writing, their lives and their friendship.

Familiar faces take on three crime-writing legends

Bryony Hannah, known for Call the Midwife and Rivals, will portray Agatha Christie.

Miles Jupp, whose credits include Belgravia: The Next Chapter and Napoleon, takes on the role of G.K. Chesterton, while Downton Abbey and The Syndicate actress Cara Theobold plays Dorothy L. Sayers.

Viraj Juneja, known for Little English and Get Duked!, completes the central cast as D.I. Greenway.

For Hannah, playing Christie provides an opportunity to explore the person behind one of the most famous names in literature.

“Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time; and yet I knew very little about the woman behind the pen,” she said.

Hannah added that The Detection Club will present Christie “in a whole new light,” allowing her to explore the writer’s intelligence, humour and imperfections.

When will The Detection Club premiere?

The BBC has not yet announced a release date.

The ten-part drama is due to be filmed across the West Midlands, while further casting announcements are expected in due course.

More Agatha Christie mysteries on BBC iPlayer

While audiences wait for The Detection Club, several Christie adaptations are already available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Ordeal by Innocence begins with the murder of wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll, played by Anna Chancellor. Her adopted son Jack Argyll (Anthony Boyle) is arrested, but 18 months later, as Rachel’s widower prepares to marry again, questions emerge over whether the right person was blamed.

And Then There Were None follows ten strangers invited to an isolated island off England’s south coast by a mysterious host. Bad weather cuts them off from the outside world, before members of the group begin dying one after another in circumstances echoing the nursery rhyme “Ten Little Soldier Boys.”

Murder Is Easy, meanwhile, follows Nigerian attaché Fitzwilliam (David Jonsson), who encounters Miss Pinkerton (Penelope Wilton) while travelling to the picturesque village of Wychwood under Ashe. She warns him that a murderer is at work, but when Miss Pinkerton later dies while travelling to Scotland Yard, Fitzwilliam becomes determined to uncover the truth before the killer strikes again.

With The Detection Club, the BBC is taking a different approach to the familiar world of classic British crime fiction — putting Christie and two of her celebrated contemporaries at the centre of mysteries rather than simply adapting the stories they created.