# Agatha Christie's Marple

Agatha Christie's Marple (or simply Marple) is a British ITV television programme loosely based on books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to the third series, until her retirement from the role, and by Julia McKenzie from the fourth series onwards. Unlike the counterpart TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot, the show took many liberties with Christie’s works, most notably adding Miss Marple’s character to the adaptations of novels in which she never appeared. Following the conclusion of the sixth series, the BBC acquired the rights for the production of Agatha Christie adaptations, suggesting that ITV would be unable to make a seventh series of Marple.

## Premise

Agatha Christie's Marple follows the adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St. Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages (and sometimes when simply being at home), Miss Marple often stumbles upon or hears about mysterious murders, which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
During her adventures, Miss Marple is aided by close friends, relatives, or other allies that she meets, which include Tommy and Tuppence (protagonists of another series of Christie novels).

## Cast and characters

The only character to appear in every episode is Miss Marple herself, played by Geraldine McEwan through series 3 and by Julia McKenzie from series 4 onwards.
A few other characters appear in more than one episode, although they are not always played by the same actor. Exceptions are Joanna Lumley, who plays Mrs Dolly Bantry in The Body in the Library and The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, and Stephen Churchett, who appears as the coroner in four episodes.
Dr Haydock appears in three episodes, but is played by three actors: Robin Soans in The Body in the Library, Robert Powell in The Murder at the Vicarage and Neil Stuke in The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. Jason Rafiel, an old friend of Marple's, was voiced by Herbert Lom (who also made an on-screen appearance as Mr Dufosse in The Murder at the Vicarage) in Nemesis and played by Antony Sher in A Caribbean Mystery.
The series also featured real-life characters: Winston Churchill appeared in The Sittaford Mystery, Noël Coward in 4.50 from Paddington, Louis Armstrong in At Bertram's Hotel, and Ian Fleming and James Bond in A Caribbean Mystery.

## Episodes

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 December 2004 (2004-12-12) | 2 January 2005 (2005-01-02) |
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 February 2006 (2006-02-05) | 30 April 2006 (2006-04-30) |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 23 September 2007 (2007-09-23) | 1 January 2009 (2009-01-01) |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 September 2009 (2009-09-06) | 15 June 2011 (2011-06-15) |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 30 August 2010 (2010-08-30) | 2 January 2011 (2011-01-02) |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 June 2013 (2013-06-16) | 29 December 2013 (2013-12-29) |
Each series consists of four feature-length episodes, except series six which has only three episodes. The first six episodes were all adaptations of Miss Marple novels by Christie. Subsequent episodes were derived from works featuring Miss Marple and Christie novels that did not feature the character. The title of the series removes the word Miss from Miss Marple, to match the title of Agatha Christie's Poirot series.

## Production

Marple was filmed in various locations, including London, the villages of Englefield in Berkshire, Chilham in Kent, Turville in Buckinghamshire and Blewbury in Oxfordshire.
Windsor Guildhall in Windsor was featured as the fictional Melchester in Murder at the Vicarage, the interior of Highclere Castle was used in 4.50 From Paddington, and Knebworth House was used that work and in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and in Greenshaw's Folly. Hatfield House was used as Chimneys in The Secret of Chimneys.
Hambleden was used as St Mary Mead and Dorney Court featured in The Body in the Library as Gossington Hall, home of the Bantrys, and also as the vicarage in "The Moving Finger" Fawley Court in Buckinghamshire was used as Stoneygates in They Do It with Mirrors and The Grotto was used as the exterior of the secret folly in Endless Night.
In Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, the Castle Savage scenes were largely filmed at Loseley Park near Guildford. A Caribbean Mystery was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, although the beach scenes were shot at Boulders Beach. For the production based on Endless Night, scenes were filmed in Dorchester.
The exterior of Marina Gregg's house in The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side were filmed at North Mymms Park, and the cemetery in Nemesis was filmed at Waverley Abbey.

## Adaptations and changes from novels

Christie's twelve novels featuring Miss Marple were all adapted for the series. The Murder at the Vicarage, The Body in the Library, 4.50 from Paddington, and A Murder is Announced in Series 1, Sleeping Murder and The Moving Finger in Series 2, At Bertram's Hotel and Nemesis in Series 3, A Pocket Full of Rye and They Do It with Mirrors in Series 4, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side in Series 5 and A Caribbean Mystery in Series 6.
In addition, several short stories featuring Miss Marple were adapted into full-length episodes across the series. The Blue Geranium in Series 5, elements of The Herb of Death were incorporated into the adaptation of The Secret of Chimneys in Series 5, while Greenshaw's Folly and The Thumb Mark of St. Peter were combined into one story for Series 6.
Across the twenty-three adaptations, many changes have been made from the source material.
* The Body in the Library introduces a lesbian affair and changes the identity of one of the killers.
* The Murder at the Vicarage removes or changes some minor characters and manufactures Miss Marple's early life.
* 4.50 from Paddington removes one character's death and simplifies the killer's motive.
* A Murder Is Announced changes some of the characters and makes an implied lesbian relationship an explicit one.
* Sleeping Murder changes the killer's motive, some characters backstory, inserts a central romantic relationship, and sideplot involving a travelling band of singers.
* The Moving Finger changes the time period and some character backstory, including the addition of a suicide attempt by the narrating character and two other characters in a gay relationship; otherwise, it is largely faithful to the source material.
* By the Pricking of My Thumbs inserts Miss Marple into what was originally a Tommy and Tuppence novel, and therefore changes many plot elements, including Tommy and Tuppence's relationship, adding characters, subplots, and changing the time period.
* The Sittaford Mystery is very loosely based on the novel (which does not feature Miss Marple) and changes the identity of the killer.
* At Bertram's Hotel is only loosely based on the novel, changing many elements of the plot, characters and time period.
* Ordeal by Innocence includes significant changes to the characters, adding Marple into the story.
* Towards Zero inserts Miss Marple into the story and changes some characters, but is largely true to the original novel.
* Nemesis is only loosely based on the novel, and changes characters and setting.
* A Pocket Full of Rye is a faithful adaptation of the novel, with only minor changes to the way characters are described.
* Murder Is Easy is very loosely based on the novel which does not feature Miss Marple, also changing the murderer's motive.
* They Do It with Mirrors combines some characters and adds an arson attack.
* Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is only loosely based on the novel, which does not feature Miss Marple, changing the plot and characters.
* The Pale Horse is very loosely based on the novel which does not feature Miss Marple.
* The Secret of Chimneys is very loosely based on the novel which does not feature Miss Marple, although it uses story elements from The Herb of Death. It also changes the killer's identity.
* The Blue Geranium is greatly embellished from the original short story.
* The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side keeps closely to the original story.
* A Caribbean Mystery keeps closely to the original story, apart from the inclusion of real-life novelist Ian Fleming and ornithologist James Bond.
* Greenshaw's Folly combines the short story with elements from The Thumb Mark of St. Peter. The story is embellished, but keeps to the core of the original works.
* Endless Night is a faithful adaptation of the novel despite Miss Marple being added, but the story is very similar to The Case of The Caretaker.

## Worldwide distribution

Agatha Christie's Marple was originally aired in the United States on PBS within the anthology series Mystery!, where it is presented as Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple", before airing on the anthology series Masterpiece Theatre. The series is broadcast to the whole of Canada on CBC and in French on Radio-Canada. In Australia, Agatha Christie's Marple airs on ABC1.
Marple is also being broadcast on ATV World in Hong Kong, on EBS and MegaTV in South Korea and on CCTV-8 in China. China, however, refused to show The Body in the Library and Murder Is Easy, due to the involvement of a lesbian and an incestuous relationship respectively. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? was extensively edited, due to the involvement of War-period China.
In Norway, the series has been airing on state broadcaster NRK1 as "Miss Marple". In Sweden, Marple airs on TV4, the biggest commercial TV station. In Poland, the series airs on Ale Kino+. In the Czech Republic it is broadcast under the title Slečna Marplová, Czech for "Miss Marple".
In Brazil, the series airs on HBO Brasil. In the Netherlands it is broadcast on BBC First.

## Reception
### Ratings

| Series | No. | Title | Air date | Ratings | Ratings | Ave. ratings | Ave. ratings | Ref. |
| Series | No. | Title | Air date | Viewers | Rank | Viewers | Rank | Ref. |
| 1 | 1 | The Body in the Library | 12 December 2004 | 8.72 | 14 | 7.70 | 15 | |
| 1 | 2 | The Murder at the Vicarage | 19 December 2004 | 8.36 | 11 | 7.70 | 15 | |
| 1 | 3 | 4.50 from Paddington | 26 December 2004 | 5.95 | 22 | 7.70 | 15 | |
| 1 | 4 | A Murder Is Announced | 2 January 2005 | 7.78 | 14 | 7.70 | 15 | |
| 2 | 1 | Sleeping Murder | 5 February 2006 | 8.74 | 12 | 7.79 | 13 | |
| 2 | 2 | The Moving Finger | 12 February 2006 | 7.89 | 14 | 7.79 | 13 | |
| 2 | 3 | By the Pricking of My Thumbs | 19 February 2006 | 7.93 | 14 | 7.79 | 13 | |
| 2 | 4 | The Sittaford Mystery | 30 April 2006 | 6.58 | 13 | 7.79 | 13 | |
| 3 | 1 | At Bertram's Hotel | 23 September 2007 | 5.41 | 17 | 5.32 | 19 | |
| 3 | 2 | Ordeal by Innocence | 30 September 2007 | 5.54 | 19 | 5.32 | 19 | |
| 3 | 3 | Towards Zero | 3 August 2008 | 5.84 | 11 | 5.32 | 19 | |
| 3 | 4 | Nemesis | 1 January 2009 | 4.48 | 27 | 5.32 | 19 | |
| 4 | 1 | A Pocket Full of Rye | 6 September 2009 | 5.39 | 14 | 4.92 | 15 | |
| 4 | 2 | Murder Is Easy | 13 September 2009 | 4.86 | 16 | 4.92 | 15 | |
| 4 | 3 | They Do It with Mirrors | 1 January 2010 | 5.55 | 12 | 4.92 | 15 | |
| 4 | 4 | Why Didn't They Ask Evans? | 15 June 2011 | 3.86 | 16 | 4.92 | 15 | |
| 5 | 1 | The Pale Horse | 30 August 2010 | 4.97 | 15 | 4.99 | 15 | |
| 5 | 2 | The Secret of Chimneys | 27 December 2010 | 4.69 | 16 | 4.99 | 15 | |
| 5 | 3 | The Blue Geranium | 29 December 2010 | 5.71 | 13 | 4.99 | 15 | |
| 5 | 4 | The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side | 2 January 2011 | 4.58 | 17 | 4.99 | 15 | |
| 6 | 1 | A Caribbean Mystery | 16 June 2013 | 4.31 | 13 | 4.42 | 14 | |
| 6 | 2 | Greenshaw's Folly | 23 June 2013 | 4.39 | 14 | 4.42 | 14 | |
| 6 | 3 | Endless Night | 29 December 2013 | 4.57 | 14 | 4.42 | 14 | |

### Awards and nominations

In 2005, Geraldine McEwan was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in Series 1. The series was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program, in 2005. In 2006, series composer, Dominik Scherrer was the winner of a Gold Medal at the New York Festivals for TV Programming & Promotion - Craft: Program - Best Original Music/Lyrics, as well as receiving an Ivor Novello Award nomination for Best Television Soundtrack, in 2011. The series was Inducted into the Online Film & Television Association – Television Hall of Fame: Productions, in 2014.

## Home media

In the United States, Agatha Christie's Marple was made available on DVD from Acorn Media, where the entire series is available in individual sets, and a set containing the first three series. The series has been released in its entirety, in both individual and complete sets, in the UK, via ITV DVD, and in Australia, originally from ABC DVD, then Roadshow Entertainment. The series will, for the first time, receive a Blu-ray release, consisting of the first three series in a limited edition set from ViaVision in Australia, in 2024. In Germany, the DVDs were distributed by Polyband/WVG in individual sets, a complete limited edition set, followed by a complete standard edition set.
| Series | Release date | Release date | Release date | Release date | Release date |
| Series | Region 1 | Region 2 (UK) | Region 2 (Germany) | Region 4 | Region B (Blu-ray Australia) |
| Series 1 | 24 May 2005 | 14 March 2005 | 27 September 2019 | 7 April 2005 | — |
| Series 2 | 29 August 2006 | 17 July 2006 | 29 November 2019 | 1 August 2007 | — |
| Series 3 | 9 October 2007 | 6 October 2008 | 31 January 2020 | 1 April 2010 | — |
| Series 4 | 4 August 2009 | 4 January 2010 | 27 March 2020 | 4 November 2010 | — |
| Series 5 | 31 August 2010 | 20 June 2011 | 26 June 2020 | 3 November 2011 | — |
| Series 6 | 30 September 2014 | 6 January 2014 | 28 August 2020 | 2 April 2014 | — |
| Collection sets ||||||
| Series 1 & 2 | — | 17 July 2006 | — | 7 November 2007 | — |
| Series 1–3 | 2 November 2010 | 31 May 2010 | — | 8 July 2020 | 4 December 2024 |
| Series 1–4 | — | 16 August 2010 | — | — | — |
| Series 1–5 | — | 15 August 2011 | — | — | — |
| Series 4–6 | — | — | — | 17 February 2021 | — |
| Series 1–6 | — | 13 January 2014 | 13 November 2020 | 6 October 2021 | — |
* ↑ Series 1–5 were re-released individually on 3 April 2013 in a new style off DVD artwork. The same artwork used for the premiere release of Series 6 (2014).
* ↑ Series 1 was originally released in the four episodes over four individual dvds. They were all re-released in 2007 within a slip box.
* ↑ In addition to the 2020 limited edition set, the complete series was re-released in a standard edition set on 26 March 2021.