Partners in Crime: meet the cast of the new BBC1 Agatha Christie drama starring Jessica Raine and David Walliams By Ben Dowell Sunday 26 July 2015 at 8:30PM After ITV’s dominant Poirot and Miss Marple years, Agatha Christie's less well-known detectives Tommy and Tuppence are featuring in a new BBC1 series starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine in the roles. There are two self-contained stories over three episodes each. The first is The Secret Adversary, which updates Christie’s 1922 story to 1952 and kicks of the Cold War mystery with a chance encounter on a Paris train between the husband-and-wife sleuths and an agitated young woman who suddenly disappears. Whilst Tommy is focussed on his fledgling honey business, Tuppence is much more concerned about this missing person, and her investigations bring them into contact with Tommy’s uncle, and Secret Service bigwig, Major Anthony Carter. We learn that the missing woman was carrying a secret recording that will reveal the identity of a legendary Soviet assassin, known only as Mr Brown. Things then get really interesting…. So who are the main characters in The Secret Adversary?

David Walliams (plays Tommy Beresford) Tommy is a bit of a lost soul at the beginning of the drama, desperately trying to get a bee keeping business going. During the Second Second World War, he was hit by a catering van on his first day as a soldier so he never got to prove himself on the frontline. So when his wife Tuppence stumbles on an intriguing case of a missing woman and dastardly espionage activities it's his chance to finally become a hero. David Says: "Tuppence is definitely more forthright. She’s braver than Tommy, he’s more on the back-foot, but he means well. Tommy is a bit more of a klutz than Tuppence and is sometimes more of a burden. Together however, Tommy and Tuppence make a good team." Where have you see him before? Where haven’t you seen him? Little Britain star, Britain’s Got Talent judge, star of the BBC comedy Big School, Walliams is one of the most successful performer/entertainers in Britain today.

Jessica Raine (plays Tuppence Beresford) Happily married to Tommy, if a little frustrated at being a housewife, Tuppence has definitely reached a point where she feels ready to actively have an adventure rather than read about them in her beloved books. Curious, quick-witted and adventurous she often leaps before she looks. Jessica says: "When I read this script I was struck by what a unique and fabulous part it was for a woman. Tommy and Tuppence are a team, and there's no sense of her playing second fiddle to her husband. Sometimes when you play a character they can rub off on you, and I felt more adventurous and energised while being Tuppence. She is an enormous amount of fun to play." Where have you seen her before? Perhaps best known for her performance as Call the Midwife's Jenny Lee, Raine is becoming increasingly prolific and has recently been seen in Sky Arts crime drama series Fortitude and Wolf Hall, where she played Jane Boleyn.

Matthew Steer (plays Albert Pemberton) Albert Pemberton is a friend of Tommy's from the war, who now works as a chemistry teacher at a boy’s school with plenty of equipment and techniques at his disposal that are useful to them. He is a bubbly character with lots of enthusiasm, ideas and inventions but he's not necessarily the guy you want in the field. Something of a young Q from Bond, he has a prosthetic (wooden) hand following a mishap while working for the bomb squad during the war. Matthew says: "The Albert I play is very different to the original; [scriptwriter] Zinnie [Harris] had really developed and transformed him, also giving him a wooden hand, so in that respect I was free to create and go with what I felt was right. He is however a little bored of life in the classroom and wants a bigger piece of the action and is envious of Tommy and Tuppence and their adventures." Where have you seen him before? Recently appeared in British film Urban Hymn, Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, and BBC3’s sitcom Siblings.

Clarke Peters (plays Julius Hersheimmer) Julius is a self-made man who has potentially found a way to challenge the dominance of the sugar industry by introducing a substitute called Sweeterelle. He hires Tommy and Tuppence in the first story to help find his missing cousin. Clarke says: "I’m an actor on a mission to entertain you and take you to another world. It’s been a real gas. David and Jess are fun actors and I know their job was very difficult because they were filming every day, it was a real graft for them. But when we worked together I hoped I could bring some levity to their job and be a good supporting actor for them." Where have you seen him before? Best known for his work with celebrated US showrunner David Simon he starred as Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux in Simon’s smoky New Orleans-set HBO drama Treme. But he is perhaps best known for playing the smart cool cop Lester Freamon in all five series of Simon’s mega hit epic The Wire, considered by some to be the finest television series ever made.

James Fleet (plays Major Anthony Carter) Major Anthony Carter, more commonly known as Carter, or ‘Uncle’ to his nephew Tommy, is the head of the Third Floor, a secretive branch of British Military Intelligence. The Cold War is a relatively new concept, and Carter is still adapting himself to the intricacies of this new frontier in spying. Carter has a paternal relationship with his hapless nephew Tommy, and tries to protect him the best he can. It's not always easy... Where have you seen him before? Perhaps most well known for his comic performances as Tom in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Hugo in The Vicar of Dibley, he has recently performed in the American series Outlander and will be seen in The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, the forthcoming BBC adaptation of Shakespeare’s history plays. Partners in Crime starts on BBC1 on Sunday 26th July at 9pm Partners in Crime (TV Series 1983– ) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later.

X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Agatha Christie's husband-and-wife sleuthing team take on a series of short whodunit mysteries. Stars: After a young woman's inherited manor house appears to be haunted, but Tommy and Tuppence try to prove the poltergeist to be corporeal. 7.7 Scotland Yard recruits the Beresfords to infiltrate an exclusive gambling club and expose the mysterious and ruthless gang of counterfeiters operating there. 7.7 After seeing a suspicious coded message in the newspaper, Tuppence and Tommy attend a masked ball and find a costumed woman dying from a knife wound.

7.6 Visit our Awards Central section Related News a list of 42 titles created 04 Feb 2012 a list of 36 titles created 05 Feb 2012 a list of 40 titles created 09 Sep 2012 a list of 3739 titles created 15 Oct 2014 a list of 9 titles created 5 months ago Title: Partners in Crime (1983– ) 7.5/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Primetime Emmy. See more awards » Photos The Secret Adversary (TV Movie 1983) Adventure | Crime | Drama After two old friends accidentally meet and resolve to become investigators for hire, they quickly become embroiled in a missing treaty and a Bolshevik conspiracy. Director: Tony Wharmby While golfing on the Welsh coast, Bobby Jones apparently hits a stranger who falls off the the sea cliff.

His enigmatic last words are "Why didn't they ask Evans?" Directors: John Davies, Tony Wharmby Stars: Francesca Annis, John Gielgud, Bernard Miles Agatha Christie's crime-fighting duo, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, solve mysteries and search for enemy spies in 1950s Britain. Stars: Jessica Raine, David Walliams, James Fleet Seven Dials Mystery (TV Movie 1981) Adventure | Mystery | Romance Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent a pert, aggressive young aristocrat insinuates herself into a series of murders, stolen state secrets, and a mysterious secret society. Director: Tony Wharmby The normally friendly village of Lymston is plagued by vile anonymous letters. When a mother of three takes her own life, following such a letter, Ms. Marple is not at all convinced things are as they seem. Stars: Joan Hickson, Michael Culver, Elizabeth Counsell When a young bride moves into a country manor, long repressed childhood memories of witnessing a murder come to the surface.

Director: John Davies Amateur detective Miss Jane Marple investigates the murder of a young woman whose body is found in the library at Gossington Hall, home of Colonel and Mrs. Arthur Bantry. Stars: Joan Hickson, Debbie Arnold, John Bardon A friend of Miss Marple's sees a woman being strangled in a passing train. When police cannot find a body and doubt the story, Miss Marple enlists professional housekeeper, Lucy Eyelesbarrow, to go undercover. Director: Martyn Friend An unusual announcement in the newspaper leads the curious villagers to Miss Blacklock's home, where they become witnesses to a murder. Stars: Joan Hickson, Ursula Howells, Samantha Bond When a handful of grain is found in the pocket of a murdered businessman, Miss Marple seeks a murderer with a penchant for nursery rhymes. Director: Guy Slater Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple. Director: Julian Amyes During a stay at one of London's most elegant and venerable hotels Miss Marple uncovers a sinister undercurrent of corruption and murder beneath Bertram's stuffy veneer.

Director: Mary McMurray Edit Storyline Based on Agatha Christie's original work, this limited series chronicles the adventures of Tommy and Prudence "Tuppence" Beresford as the duo take over operations of a London detective agency. Each installment of the show follows one of the mini-mysteries from the "Partners in Crime" short stories, seeing the newlyweds hot on the trail of missing jewels, poltergeists, poisoned chocolates, and more. Written by Kay-22 29 November 1984 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime: The Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries See more » Company Credits Did You Know? Trivia Three of the stories in the original PARTNERS IN CRIME mystery story anthology were not made into TV shows; they were "The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger," "Blindman's Buff," and "The Man Who was No. 16." These stories comprise an ongoing case that spans the anthology.

The introductory story, "A Fairy in the Flat" not only has the Beresfords asked to take over The International Detective Agency, but reveals that the agency's former manager, Theodore Blunt, was a part of a spy ring, and the Beresfords are tasked with intercepting coded messages. The three unadapted stories find the Beresfords threatened by various spies and eventually, discovering the identity of agent No. 16. The book ends with them closing the detective agency and Tuppence announcing she is pregnant. See more » Connections Entertaining and light hearted, a delight! 21 February 2010 | by TheLittleSongbird (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, and of the TV series "Agatha Christie: Poirot". I wanted to see this series for the lovely Francessca Annis and I really love it. It is entertaining and light-hearted, it is not as complex as Poirot and Marple and that is not a bad thing really. James Warwick and Francessca Annis are perfect as Tommy and Tuppence, and Reece Dinsdale is amusing as Albert.

The period detail is splendid, Annis looks stunning in her costumes and the scenery is beautiful. The music is playful and fun, and the dialogue is nice. The mysteries are suspenseful and keeps to Christie's style decently enough. If anything, this series should've lasted longer in my opinion, it is not the best mystery series out there, but it is pleasant to view. 9/10 Bethany Cox 10 of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Partners in Crime (TV Series 2015) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Agatha Christie's crime-fighting duo, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, solve mysteries and search for enemy spies in 1950s Britain. Stars: Tommy and Tuppence have a chance encounter on a train with an agitated young woman who suddenly disappears and never returns to her seat.

6.8 There is a murder at the local Veterans Ball, as Tommy and Tuppence continue their search for the Soviet spy. 6.7 Tommy and Tuppence go undercover; he as a member of Brown's gang and she as a maid to a potential suspect. 6.7 a list of 26 titles created 01 Jun 2013 a list of 34 titles created 19 Feb 2015 a list of 27 titles created 11 months ago a list of 37 titles created 9 months ago a list of 25 titles created 4 months ago Title: Partners in Crime (2015) 6.4/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Partners in Crime (TV Series 1983) Crime | Drama | Mystery Agatha Christie's husband-and-wife sleuthing team take on a series of short whodunit mysteries.

Stars: Francesca Annis, James Warwick, Reece Dinsdale In the Yorkshire Dales in the 1870s, the shantytown of Jericho is the home of a community that will live, thrive and die in the shadow of the viaduct they've been brought together to build. Stars: Jessica Raine, Samuel Bottomley, Hans Matheson Arthur & George (TV Series 2015) Biography | Crime | Drama Sir Arthur Conan Doyle recaptures his zest for life by pursuing and challenging a notorious miscarriage of justice. Stars: Martin Clunes, Arsher Ali, Charles Edwards Ten strangers are invited to an island by a mysterious host, and start to get killed one by one. Could one of them be the killer? Stars: Maeve Dermody, Charles Dance, Toby Stephens Life in Squares (TV Mini-Series 2015) Drama An intimate and emotional drama for BBC Two about the revolutionary Bloomsbury group. Stars: Eve Best, Ed Birch, Phoebe Fox A Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.

Stars: James Norton, Robson Green, Morven Christie Agatha Christie's Marple (TV Series 2004) Crime | Drama | Mystery An elderly spinster living in the village of St Mary Mead helps her friends and relatives solve mysterious murders. Stars: Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie, Stephen Churchett An Inspector Calls (TV Movie 2015) Crime | Drama | Mystery A mysterious Inspector investigates the wealthy Birling family and their dinner guests following the suicide of a young woman. Director: Aisling Walsh Black Work (TV Mini-Series 2015) Crime | Drama | Thriller A policewoman sets out to discover who murdered her husband, an undercover officer. Stars: Sheridan Smith, Matthew McNulty, Oliver Woollford An eighteenth century drama details the scandalous life of Lady Seymour Worsley. Director: Sheree Folkson Agatha Raisin (TV Series 2016) Comedy | Mystery The Cotswolds-based PR guru turned amateur sleuth returns for a series of comedic murder-mysteries based on the books by M.C. Beaton.

Stars: Ashley Jensen, Jamie Glover, Katy Wix Set in 1935 when the Englishwoman Louisa Durrell, whose life had fallen apart, decided to move from Bournemouth to the Greek island of Corfu. Her husband had died some years earlier and she... See full summary » Stars: Anna Savva, Keeley Hawes, Josh O'Connor Edit Storyline Set in the leafy suburbs of 1950s London, the Beresfords find themselves in need of some adventure in their lives. With Tommy undertaking a variety of business opportunities, and Tuppence trying to dissuade him, the couple find themselves in the wrong place at the right time to solve a mystery - or two - and perhaps save someone's life. They are about to enter a world of espionage and skulduggery guided by Tommy's mysterious Uncle, Major Carter. It is a world which will prove easier to enter than to leave. Sometimes a marriage needs an adventure. Genres: 26 July 2015 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime See more » Filming Locations: The show is canceled by BBC after only one series.

See more » Frequently Asked Questions The tag line to this series  rather than "Sometimes a marriage needs an adventure"  should more rightly be "Sometimes a VIEWER needs an adventure" . . . As this turgid new series is, simply, uninspired & uninspiring. There is NO chemistry between the 2 leads. I think it was a case of miscasting, not just of the 2 actors individually, but as a pair. David Walliams seems lethargic almost to the point of depression. And as for Jessica Raine: I had never seen the actress before, but she plays the role like she is in a safe, pleasant, 'feel-good' little evening drama like 'The Royal' or 'Heartbeat'; concentrating upon her character being all cutesy twee 1950s prettiness rather than a real person. I gather Raine was in the 'Call The Midwife' before this; well, that explains her flat interpretation of what should be a winning Agatha Christie character. Oh where, oh where!, are Francesca Annis & James Warwick  the leads from the last TV adaptation, in the 1980s  when we need them?!

That series had it all: charisma, believable baddies, zipping plots, credible flirtation, effervescent fun, lovely 1920s period moments, and STYLE. It was only a few months ago that I was voicing to a friend that the tales were ripe for a new interpretation; especially as the canon of Christie's Poirot & Marple stories have just been completed, leaving a void on our TVs. So when I heard of this new series only a few weeks ago via a TV trailer, I waited, hopeful for entertainment . . . but it never emerged. There is no wit, no sparkle. The stories are disjointed, with gaping holes in the plot. Parts of the episodes quite literally make no sense at all. The camera persistently floats over the faces of the 2 chief characters as if we ADORE just watching them in their lovely little lives. No, we don't; Agatha Christie stories are fine mysteries, with great plots, and that's what we need to see. But we never do. The series comes across as just an excuse to languish in retro enjoyment of the 1950s.

Instead of being what it should: the telling of a great tale, with a clever plot & the full-bodied characters with which Christie stories are loaded. I made myself watch all 3 parts of the first episode, before I passed judgement (wink!) in writing, in order to be able to fairly critique a complete story. But, sadly, the 2nd & 3rd parts were no improvement upon the 1st. I even made myself start watching episode 2 . . . after which I knew for sure I'd have had more entertainment spending that hour rewatching a well-loved (however well-known) episode of 'Poirot'. The story is slow-moving to the point of dullsville. There is NO passion between Walliams & Raine; the one scene where they appear in bed, even just cosying up in a demure manner, looks completely unbelievable. And when at one point in a taxi "Tommy" tries to get a bit saucy & suggestive with his "Tuppence", it's about as believable as a librarian suddenly doing a strip dance in the middle of the non-fiction section. And I really was willing this series to be good, as I know TV can adapt Christie so effectively.

So the word let-down does not suffice. The script has great lengths that are unnecessary. Things aren't explained that should be; other things best left out are laboured upon. Overall the story is so badly put together that it often fails to tell a cohesive tale at all. As for the characterisation: Bah! I have seen more believable 'baddies' written into an Enid Blyton 'Famous Five' novel. And WHY did they reset this series in the 1950s?! Yes, the "Beresfords" are the only Christie characters she let age throughout her stories, so although the first "T&T" story was written & set in the 1920s they did go grey with the times, right up to the last story of the 1970s. But as the '50s have been well documented on TV in both sets of Christie's 'Marple' adaptations, why not use the opportunity to portray the young "T&T" in their 1920s' heyday? The previous TV version of "Partners In Crime" saw fit to set it in that decade, and did a sterling job in their adaptation.

So why the 1950s on TV, yet again?! Surely a case by the production department of being too safe . . . but unwisely so! Excitement? None. Gripping stories? Nil. Likable leads? No way. Great characters? Nope. And just good drama? WHAT drama?! Admittedly, I haven't read any of Christie's "T&T" stories, so can't speak of this series as an adaptation of the original format. But in comparison to any TV depictions of Christie  including the 1980s' 'The Agatha Christie Hour'  this series is completely unwatchable. In all honesty I blame the production team, rather than the actors. Good actors, such as Roy Marsden and Alice Krige, have guest roles in this series. But, without exception, NONE of the actor's depictions seem to work. Even reliable James Fleet can't spin out his regular character in any believable way. Over-lingering camera-work on these secondary actors doesn't help with this, just as it didn't with the lead actors Walliams & Raine.

In my (humble!) opinion what this means is that the result we see on-screen is not the fault of the actors as much as the people behind the scenes, who put the production together. Sadly a case of too much humdrum saccharine pleasantness, more suited to a safe 8pm timeslot than a prime time programme. We need sparkling  not flat  entertainment. Advice: get out a DVD of any other Agatha Christie series, or the 3 'big' film adaptations of the 1970s & 1980s, and your time will have been more enjoyably spent. 19 of 31 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Tommy and Tuppence mystery series to air on the BBC - UPI.com Comments LONDON, July 5 (UPI) -- David Walliams and Jessica Raine are to play married sleuths Tommy and Tuppence in the six-episode series, Agatha Christie 's Partners in Crime, the BBC announced. The 1950s-set, mystery drama will be broken up into two adventures -- The Secret Adversary and N or M? The series is being directed by Edward Hall.

Episodes 1-3 were written by Zinnie Harris, while the following three installments were penned by Claire Wilson. "In bringing these thrilling stories to the screen, it is our ambition for Tommy and Tuppence to finally take their rightful place alongside Poirot and Marple as iconic Agatha Christie characters," Walliams said in a statement. "I was first drawn to the delicious notion of a married couple solving crimes together, and the more I read of the Tommy and Tuppence novels and short stories, the more I realized they are among Christie's very best work." "The first Tommy and Tuppence novel was published in 1922 and my grandmother would be thrilled to see her crime-fighting team reinvigorated for the BBC over 90 years on from when she first brought them to life," added Mathew Prichard, chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd. Tommy and Tuppence (Literature) - TV Tropes Tommy and Tuppence You need to login to do this.

Get Known if you don't have an account Share WMG Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are the protagonists of a series of novels and short stories by Agatha Christie , and mark the few ventures that Christie made into espionage tales rather than the whodunits she's known for. They're far less famous than their mystery-solving counterparts Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple . Appearing in Christie's second novel, The Secret Adversary, Thomas Beresford and Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley started out as friends in post- World War I Britain. Jobless and penniless, they place an ad in the paper marketing themselves as adventurers, leading to an encounter that starts their career as spies for an unnamed British intelligence agency. From there, they were revisited by Christie from time to time, and again, unlike Poirot and Marple, aged in real-time as Christie did, starting out as energetic twenty-somethings in The Secret Adversary and ending up as retired grandparents in their twilight years in Postern of Fate. Postern is also notable as the final novel Christie ever wrote, though not published.

They were often referred to by Christie as "bright young things" and she is said to have enjoyed writing their stories the most. Interestingly, the dedications of two Tommy and Tuppence books (The Secret Adversary and By the Pricking of My Thumbs) are the only times Christie ever dedicated a book directly to her readers. The Tommy and Tuppence books are: The Secret Adversary (1922) Partners in Crime (short story collection) (1929) N or M? (1941) By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968) Postern of Fate (1973) There was a live-action adaptation revolving around Tommy and Tuppence produced by London Weekend Television in 1983 of The Secret Adversary and several stories from Partners in Crime, featuring James Warwick as Tommy and Francesca Annis as Tuppence. The series was released in the United States as part of the PBS anthology series Mystery! Other various live-action adaptions have been done as part of other Agatha Christie-based series such as Marple.

BBC adaptions of The Secret Adversary and N or M?, but confusingly titled Partners in Crime note There are no adaptions of any of the short stories from that collection and starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine aired in 2015. The adaptation this time around portrays them as an established middle-aged couple (circa N or M?) indulging in amateur espionage rather than the youthful spies of the earlier books, and moves the setting for both to the 1950's era Cold War. Tommy and Tuppence's stories and novels provide examples of: Americans Are Cowboys : Some Conversational Troping between Tommy and Tuppence in Partners in Crime, where Tuppence wants to meet a handsome and rugged American man who can survive in the wild and rope a steer. Tommy asks her if he also wears chaps and a ten-gallon hat. Almost Dead Guy : Referenced at the beginning of Partners in Crime, when Tuppence wishes one would stagger through the door so she could have a mystery to solve. Babies Ever After : After Partners In Crime. And again after they adopt Betty following the events of N or M? Better to Die than Be Killed : The Secret Adversary: Mr.

Brown a.k.a. Sir James knows he will get no leniency from the government for his schemes. He takes a cyanide pill hidden in his signet ring. Partners In Crime: In "Finessing the King/The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper," when the murderer finds his scheme has been unwound by Tuppence, Sir Arthur jumps from a high window to his death. "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word : Tuppence improvises something similar to this to get money from Whittington in The Secret Adversary. Black Shirt : In N or M? Tommy and Tuppence run across a character who admires the Nazis and thinks it a pity that Britain didn't ally with Germany at the start of the war. It turns out the villain has an entire book full of these: people in power who can be counted on to support the Nazis in case of an invasion. The villain is also an example of one, British by birth but spying for and supporting the Nazis. Bluff the Eavesdropper : In The Secret Adversary, Jane wails in French to convince her kidnappers she's really lost her memory.

The Book Cipher : Tuppence finds one that starts the mystery off in Postern of Fate. Bookends : After creating Tommy and Tuppence, Christie would periodically go back and visit them from time to time. Rather sweetly, The Secret Adversary was the second published novel of Christie's career, and Postern of Fate was the third-to-last. Bound and Gagged : Tommy after being captured in both The Secret Adversary and N or M? In the former, he escapes when Annette slips a knife to him. In the latter, he finds help when he loudly snores in Morse Code through his gag, alerting Albert who happens to be nearby looking for him. Bumbling Sidekick : Albert in The Secret Adversary. He improves over the course of the series, though. Canon Welding : By The Pricking of My Thumbs and Postern of Fate both feature characters who have also appeared with Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, despite Partners In Crime referring to Poirot as a fictional character. Character Over Lap : Inspector Japp from the Hercule Poirot books. Childhood Friend Romance : Tommy and Tuppence played together as children. Cold Sniper : Averted; Mrs.

Sprot breaks down after she desperately shoots her daughter's kidnapper. Played straight, as it is later revealed she was acting to hide her cover. Cover Identity Anomaly : Averted with Tommy and Tuppence in N or M?, although they both go about it in different fashions. Cyanide Pill : In The Secret Adversary, Sir James would rather die than be caught and tried as Mr. Brown. He keeps one hidden in his signet ring. Damsel in Distress / Distressed Dude : Tommy and Tuppence are both regularly caught by the bad guys. Occasionally veers into Damsel out of Distress with Tommy, especially with his escape in The Secret Adversary. Deadpan Snarker : Tommy. Dirty Communists : The bad guys who will ruin Britain with the missing document in The Secret Adversary. Also appears to a lesser extent in Partners in Crime. Disability Superpower : Tommy seems to have developed these in "Blindman's Buff". He later reveals his shades are fake and he was playing a joke on Tuppence. Fake American : In-universe, Tuppence pretends to be a heavily-accented American secret agent to get information from Albert.

He's amazed at how natural her accent sounds when she later comes back in disguise, "pretending" to be British. Fake Brit : In-universe, Tommy runs into one who's actually German. Funetik Aksent : "The Crackler" from Partners in Crime features a fellow from Alabama who pronounces "Europe" as " Yurrop ". Genteel Interbellum Setting : The period of the first two books, The Secret Adversary and Partners in Crime. Girl Friday : Tuppence plays one in most of the stories in Partners in Crime. Grow Old with Me : Tommy and Tuppence aged in real time, unlike Christie's other detectives. By Postern of Fate, they were adventure-seeking grandparents. The Handler : Mr. Carter in The Secret Adversary and Partners in Crime, and his replacement, Mr. Grant, in N or M? He Knows Too Much : The dead agent in N or M. Also used in The Secret Adversary with Tommy, but played with in that he only bluffs his way into the hideout and doesn't actually know anything.

Hollywood Spelling : A forger incorrectly signs Tuppence's name as "Twopence" on a note and gives Tommy the final clue he needs to solve the mystery in The Secret Adversary. In Harm's Way : The whole point of the Young Adventurers, Ltd. in The Secret Adversary. Ironic Name : Tuppence's real first name is Prudence; as the author notes, she rarely acts with any. The Jeeves : Albert, starting in Partners in Crime. Kissing Cousins : Julius and Jane in The Secret Adversary. Les Collaborateurs : Mr. Brown's organization in The Secret Adversary. Loose Lips : Tuppence pretends to have them to try and lure out the moles in N or M? London England Syndrome : Knowing the correct location of Maldon is a plot point in Partners in Crime. Love at First Sight : Julius in The Secret Adversary. From a mere picture of Jane. Love Epiphany : Both Tommy and Tuppence experience this in The Secret Adversary when they think the other might be dead. The Man Behind the Man : Mr. Brown for Whittington, and later Boris.

Marriage of Convenience : With the possibility of both Tommy and Jane being gone for good, Julius asks Tuppence to marry him out of concern and respect for her, trying to lure her in with the promise of his riches. She turns him down, since she still feels strongly for Tommy. Masquerade Ball : The revolving point of the mystery in "Finessing the King/The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper." Master of Disguise : Tuppence disguises herself on a couple of occasions and manages to fool the right people. Merciful Minion : Annette in The Secret Adversary, who is the only person in the safehouse who doesn't want Tommy dead. Mission Control Is Off Its Meds : The Plan in N or M is that the Nazi agents in Britain will, on a certain day, feed enough false orders to throw Britain into disarray, allowing a Nazi takeover with a minimum of resistance. The Mole : The whole point of N or M? Which guests at the Sans Souci hotel have been planted to send secrets to the Germans? Mr. Smith : Mr. Brown in The Secret Adversary.

National Stereotypes : Used extensively, especially in The Secret Adversary, Partners in Crime, and N or M? Neat Freak : Mrs. Sprot refuses to let her daughter Betty touch the beat-up and sticky old children's books on the shelf because they're "nasty." Betty only reads the clean, new copies. The books are very nasty indeed... full of British intel to hand over to the Nazis. One Steve Limit : Played with in The Secret Adversary. There is only one character named Margurite in the book. But there's also a painting with the character from Faust named Margurite that plays a large role in locating the missing documents... Only Known by Their Nickname : Tuppence. Even her husband Tommy forgets her real first name is Prudence. Public Domain : The first book, The Secret Adversary, is public domain in the United States, and is available on Project Gutenberg. Red Oni, Blue Oni : Tuppence is red, Tommy is blue. Red Scare : Subversive communist plots and spy rings are behind the schemes of The Secret Adversary and Partners in Crime. The 2015 TV adaption of N or M?

also fits, changing the Nazi spies to Cold War traitors. Self-Imposed Challenge : Tuppence tells a client that for an extra fee, they'll solve the case in twenty-fours hours or less. The client is suitably impressed and pays, Tommy is less enthusiastic when he finds out. It turns out that Tuppence has already solved the case, largely because she helped create it. For the rest of the book clients say they've heard about this amazing guarantee... Sherlock Scan : Tommy attempts these a couple of times in Partners in Crime. Subverted, because the first time he guesses completely wrong, and the second time he was secretly eavesdropping on the man he was about to meet. Agatha Christie dramas planned to mark anniversary - BBC News BBC News Agatha Christie dramas planned to mark anniversary 28 February 2014 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Agatha Christie was born in Torquay, Devon, in September 1890 Agatha Christie's most successful book and two of her lesser-known sleuths are to be brought to the screen as part of a series of BBC programmes marking the 125th anniversary of her birth.

And Then There Were None, the author's most-read book, is to be adapted by Sarah Phelps into a three-part drama. David Walliams, meanwhile, will play one half of a married detective duo in six-part series Partners in Crime. A series of documentaries about the British crime writer are also planned. Ben Stephenson, the corporation's drama commissioning controller, said he was "delighted that the great British institution that is the BBC" was entering a "long-term relationship" with such a "brilliantly British" author. Born in 1890, Christie is best known as the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and the author of West End play The Mousetrap. The new dramas follow the conclusion of ITV's long-running Poirot series, which saw David Suchet portray the legendary Belgian detective. Though less well known, the husband-and-wife duo Tommy and Tuppence Beresford also appeared on ITV in feature-length 1983 drama The Secret Adversary. Francesca Annis and James Warwick played the couple on that occasion, going on to reprise their roles in 1983 series Partners in Crime.

Christie's Tommy and Tuppence books went on to spawn a trio of French films, starring Andre Dussollier and Catherine Frot, that renamed the characters Belisaire and Prudence. Image copyright PA Image caption Walliams previously appeared in a 2004 edition of ITV's Miss Marple series It is not yet known who will play Tuppence to Walliams's Tommy in the latest adaptation of their crime-solving adventures. "In bringing these thrilling stories to the screen, it is our ambition for Tommy and Tuppence to finally take their rightful place alongside Poirot and Marple as iconic Agatha Christie characters," said the 42-year-old. "I was first drawn to the delicious notion of a married couple solving crimes together, and the more I read of the Tommy and Tuppence novels and short stories I realised they are among Christie's very best work." And Then There Were None was the US title for a 1939 mystery that was originally published in the UK under a different title derived from a traditional nursery rhyme. The novel, about 10 strangers marooned on an island who are killed off one by one, was Christie's most popular novel, selling more than 100 million copies worldwide.

Phelps is known for her work on BBC soap EastEnders and her TV adaptations of the Charles Dickens novels Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. Little Britain star Walliams was recently seen in BBC One comedy Big Train and on the West End stage in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mathew Prichard, Christie's grandson, said it was "fantastic" to have the author "welcomed with such enthusiasm... in her all-important 125th anniversary year." Why Tommy and Tuppence were Agatha Christie's greatest creation - Telegraph TV and Radio Why Tommy and Tuppence were Agatha Christie's greatest creation Ahead of a BBC adaptation, Ben Lawrence salutes the under-known pair of sleuths inspired by the writer's own marriage Autobiographical: Jessica Raine and David Walliams star as Tuppence and Tommy Beresford Photo: BBC By Ben Lawrence 4:00PM BST 20 Jul 2015 We all think we know the ingredients of an Agatha Christie novel .

There’s a murder (or more usually three murders); a large cast of suspects; and a contained setting, in which Christie creates a pressure-cooker atmosphere before a denouement in the drawing room unpacks her convoluted plots. The location is often a stately home, but a luxurious sleeper train or a hotel in an isolated beauty spot will do just as well. Yet there is another side to Christie’s writing which may come as a surprise to those who know her work from the many film, television and stage adaptations. Enter Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, a pair of married sleuths who appear in four of her novels and one marvellous collection of short stories. These books show a side to Christie unfettered by the demands of her fans (and publishers) who wanted more Poirot or Miss Marple – and they’re about to gain wider recognition with a new television series, Partners in Crime, starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine . The most startling thing about the Tommy and Tuppence stories is that they show Christie wasn’t simply interested in the provincial upper middle class. In The Secret Adversary (1922) and N or M?

(1941), both of which have been adapted for the show, we see Bolsheviks intent on plunging Britain into anarchy; German fifth columnists infiltrating boarding houses on the south coast; and mysterious French women holed up in Soho black spots. The canvas is large, the double-crossing often fiendishly difficult to follow. Agatha Christie and her first husband Col. Archibald Christie in 1919 (Photo: Everett/REX Shutterstock) Whereas Poirot and Miss Marple are two-dimensional, glued together with catchphrases and a recurring list of lightly sketched characteristics, Tommy and Tuppence are much more authentic. This is because Christie wrote about them in real time. Poirot and Miss Marple are preserved in aspic, solving crimes in an indeterminate period that appears to be the mid-20th century. In The Secret Adversary, Tommy and Tuppence are bright young things, with Tuppence eager to make her mark in Roaring Twenties London. By the time of Postern of Fate (1973), the Beresfords are living in contented retirement in a picturesque English village.

• The 30 best TV detectives and sleuths Christie drip-feeds us information about the pair over the course of the books. We learn that they have three children and a small dog called Hannibal. There is also the character of Albert, who first appears as a lift boy and later assists Tommy and Tuppence in their adventures. We follow his journey through life as he gets married, is widowed and finally ends up as their butler. It’s a strangely moving trajectory, unlike anything else Christie attempted. The large gaps between the Tommy and Tuppence novels and their very precise time-shifts caused a headache for Zinnie Harris and Claire Wilson, who have written the new series. Early on, a decision was made to move the action to the post-war period, where the spectre of the Cold War could be a backdrop to the tales of espionage. Albert has changed, too, and is now a former bomb-disposal expert teaching at a boys’ grammar school. Tommy (David Walliams) and Tuppence (Jessica Raine) in the BBC adaptation (Photo: Robert Viglasky/ BBC) This is not the first time the Tommy and Tuppence books have been adapted for television .

Francesca Annis and James Warwick starred in a 1983 series, based on the short stories, which ramped up the camp. Unforgivably, for some Christie fans, By the Pricking of my Thumbs (1968) was made into a Marple mystery in 2006, with Anthony Andrews and Greta Scacchi assisting the gimlet‑eyed spinster. Licence was taken with the characters, Tommy being portrayed as a pompous alpha male and Tuppence as a bitter alcoholic. It’s a long way from Walliams’s genial ex-serviceman and Raines’s plucky, impulsive girl Friday – their mutual affection and displays of domestic contentment are far closer to what Christie intended. • Best TV hits of 2015 The new series also draws out the books’ humour. Christie shows a lightness of touch, missing in much of her other work, particularly in the sparky repartee between the Beresfords in Partners in Crime (1929).

According to her grandson Matthew Prichard, this is the closest Christie got to autobiography in her novels, with Tommy and Tuppence recalling the light-hearted early years of her marriage to Archibald Christie. Their divorce came shortly before Partners in Crime was published, and it’s tempting to see the book as a sort of nostalgic coda to the relationship. So here we have Agatha Christie the humorist, the political animal and the romantic. It’s proof that, as well as being one of the world’s most popular writers, she is also one of the least known. 'Partners in Crime' begins on Sunday July 26 on BBC One at 9pm Top Galleries Partners in Crime: meet the cast of the new BBC1 Agatha Christie drama starring Jessica Raine and David Walliams By Ben Dowell Sunday 26 July 2015 at 8:30PM After ITV’s dominant Poirot and Miss Marple years, Agatha Christie's less well-known detectives Tommy and Tuppence are featuring in a new BBC1 series starring David Walliams and Jessica Raine in the roles. There are two self-contained stories over three episodes each.

The first is The Secret Adversary, which updates Christie’s 1922 story to 1952 and kicks of the Cold War mystery with a chance encounter on a Paris train between the husband-and-wife sleuths and an agitated young woman who suddenly disappears. Whilst Tommy is focussed on his fledgling honey business, Tuppence is much more concerned about this missing person, and her investigations bring them into contact with Tommy’s uncle, and Secret Service bigwig, Major Anthony Carter. We learn that the missing woman was carrying a secret recording that will reveal the identity of a legendary Soviet assassin, known only as Mr Brown. Things then get really interesting…. So who are the main characters in The Secret Adversary? David Walliams (plays Tommy Beresford) Tommy is a bit of a lost soul at the beginning of the drama, desperately trying to get a bee keeping business going. During the Second Second World War, he was hit by a catering van on his first day as a soldier so he never got to prove himself on the frontline. So when his wife Tuppence stumbles on an intriguing case of a missing woman and dastardly espionage activities it's his chance to finally become a hero.

David Says: "Tuppence is definitely more forthright. She’s braver than Tommy, he’s more on the back-foot, but he means well. Tommy is a bit more of a klutz than Tuppence and is sometimes more of a burden. Together however, Tommy and Tuppence make a good team." Where have you see him before? Where haven’t you seen him? Little Britain star, Britain’s Got Talent judge, star of the BBC comedy Big School, Walliams is one of the most successful performer/entertainers in Britain today. Jessica Raine (plays Tuppence Beresford) Happily married to Tommy, if a little frustrated at being a housewife, Tuppence has definitely reached a point where she feels ready to actively have an adventure rather than read about them in her beloved books. Curious, quick-witted and adventurous she often leaps before she looks. Jessica says: "When I read this script I was struck by what a unique and fabulous part it was for a woman. Tommy and Tuppence are a team, and there's no sense of her playing second fiddle to her husband.

Sometimes when you play a character they can rub off on you, and I felt more adventurous and energised while being Tuppence. She is an enormous amount of fun to play." Where have you seen her before? Perhaps best known for her performance as Call the Midwife's Jenny Lee, Raine is becoming increasingly prolific and has recently been seen in Sky Arts crime drama series Fortitude and Wolf Hall, where she played Jane Boleyn. Matthew Steer (plays Albert Pemberton) Albert Pemberton is a friend of Tommy's from the war, who now works as a chemistry teacher at a boy’s school with plenty of equipment and techniques at his disposal that are useful to them. He is a bubbly character with lots of enthusiasm, ideas and inventions but he's not necessarily the guy you want in the field. Something of a young Q from Bond, he has a prosthetic (wooden) hand following a mishap while working for the bomb squad during the war. Matthew says: "The Albert I play is very different to the original; [scriptwriter] Zinnie [Harris] had really developed and transformed him, also giving him a wooden hand, so in that respect I was free to create and go with what I felt was right.

He is however a little bored of life in the classroom and wants a bigger piece of the action and is envious of Tommy and Tuppence and their adventures." Where have you seen him before? Recently appeared in British film Urban Hymn, Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, and BBC3’s sitcom Siblings. Clarke Peters (plays Julius Hersheimmer) Julius is a self-made man who has potentially found a way to challenge the dominance of the sugar industry by introducing a substitute called Sweeterelle. He hires Tommy and Tuppence in the first story to help find his missing cousin. Clarke says: "I’m an actor on a mission to entertain you and take you to another world. It’s been a real gas. David and Jess are fun actors and I know their job was very difficult because they were filming every day, it was a real graft for them. But when we worked together I hoped I could bring some levity to their job and be a good supporting actor for them." Where have you seen him before? Best known for his work with celebrated US showrunner David Simon he starred as Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux in Simon’s smoky New Orleans-set HBO drama Treme.

But he is perhaps best known for playing the smart cool cop Lester Freamon in all five series of Simon’s mega hit epic The Wire, considered by some to be the finest television series ever made. James Fleet (plays Major Anthony Carter) Major Anthony Carter, more commonly known as Carter, or ‘Uncle’ to his nephew Tommy, is the head of the Third Floor, a secretive branch of British Military Intelligence. The Cold War is a relatively new concept, and Carter is still adapting himself to the intricacies of this new frontier in spying. Carter has a paternal relationship with his hapless nephew Tommy, and tries to protect him the best he can. It's not always easy... Where have you seen him before? Perhaps most well known for his comic performances as Tom in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Hugo in The Vicar of Dibley, he has recently performed in the American series Outlander and will be seen in The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, the forthcoming BBC adaptation of Shakespeare’s history plays.

Partners in Crime starts on BBC1 on Sunday 26th July at 9pm Jessica Raine and David Walliams in Partners in Crime: 'watchable' - Telegraph Jessica Raine and David Walliams in Partners in Crime: 'watchable' The BBC adaptation of the Agatha Christie short story was missing the plot, says Gerard O'Donovan 3 Jessica Raine and David Walliams as Tommy and Tuppence Beresford in the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime Photo: BBC Follow Period mysteries drenched in whimsy are a staple of Sunday evenings. Judged on this alone, BBC One’s Partners in Crime should have been the perfect TV programme to finish to the weekend. A ripping yarn reviving two of Agatha Christie’s most charming sleuths for the first time in decades and marrying the talents of David Walliams and former Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine . Jessica Raine and David Walliams But while Partners in Crime left me wanting more, it wasn’t always in a good way. That’s as much the fault of the source material as the adaptation.

There are good reasons why accidental detectives Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were never as popular as Marple and Poirot, despite being among Christie’s most sparkling characters on the page. For one thing, the puzzles she set them are dizzyingly convoluted even by her standards. The effort of stuffing the fantastical twists and turns of their debut mystery The Secret Adversary into the confines of a TV script was all too evident in the disappointing opener adapted by Zinnie Harris. • Why Tommy and Tuppence were Agatha Christie's greatest creation Even more problematic is that the Beresfords appeared only fitfully, their adventures spanning the Twenties to the Seventies, which is an impossible stretch for expensive costume drama. Choosing a point midway – the early Fifties – for the series probably made budgetary sense. But it meant the jewel in The Secret Adversary’s crown – its gloriously atmospheric post-Great War setting – had to be jettisoned entirely, and with it many key elements of the novel 's plot. Jessica Raine and David Walliams Still, Walliams and Raine brought charm to the table. There’s a likeable chemistry between the two.

We met them not as bright twentysomethings but as a slightly jaded husband and wife in need of a thrill to spice up their lives. Raine is a touch too prim for Christie’s gutsy, quick-thinking Tuppence. And Walliams is too prissy for her ever-dependable Tommy. But together they make an amusing and, crucially, credible couple. • The 30 best TV detectives and sleuths So much so that the intricacies of the plot can seem of secondary importance. It may not be a recipe for great drama, but it does keep you watching. I’m not convinced by Partners in Crime just yet, but it has lots of potential. Hopefully, now that the characters are bedded in, the pace will pick up next week and the series will start firing on all cylinders. Partners in Crime (BBC TV series) | Agatha Christie Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Partners in Crime (BBC TV series) 338pages on Share Promotional poster Partners in Crime is a British drama television series that is set to broadcast on BBC One on 26 July 2015. The six-part series is an adaptation of two detective novels by Agatha Christie .

The first three episodes are an adaptation of The Secret Adversary , written by Zinnie Harris and the last three episodes are of N or M? by Claire Wilson. Contents Edit Partners in Crime was commissioned by Ben Stephenson and Charlotte Moore for the BBC to mark the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth. The adaptation was produced by Endor Productions in partnership with Agatha Christie Productions. The series was not renewed for a second series by the BBC. [1] Conception Edit David Walliams and Hilary Strong (Agatha Christie Group) approached Hilary Bevan Jones and Tom Nash (development producer) of Endor Productions with the idea of re-inventing the Agatha Christie characters Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Walliams liked the idea of married amateur detective duo bickering over a dead body. Agatha Christie wrote the stories between 1922 and 1973 and featured stories before Tommy and Tuppence were married to old age with grown up children. It was decided to set the series in the 1950s in the context of the Cold War and suit the stories that had already been written by Agatha Christie.

The two stories chosen "The Secret Adversary" and "N or M" would be made into three hours each over six episodes. Casting David Walliams as the main driving force and executive producer would play Tommy with his usual wit and humour. Jessica Raine was chosen for her ability to move between drama and humour. Filming Edit Creating 1950's England led to filming in central and greater London, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Kent, Hertfordshire, and Norfolk. Didcot Railway Centre and North Norfolk Railway, Sheringham were used for period railway locations. Cromer in Norfolk was used for its coastline and pier and many unspoilt buildings and streets in the town. Englefield House and derelict industrial wastelands by the Thames. Characters Edit Thomas "Tommy" Beresford ( David Walliams ) in his early 40's is clever and logical man whose business ventures never quite work out just as his university and army days were never successful. He tries to look after his spirited wife, Tuppence, and his son George by various money making schemes.

While he does not realize he has no head for business he has a knack for espionage and crime solving in a 'Cold War' world full of double agents and assassins. It is a perilous world in which Tommy flourishes. Prudence "Tuppence" Beresford ( Jessica Raine ) is a quick witted, irrepressible woman with a tendency to leap without looking. The daughter of a country archdeacon; one of five children. She misses the sense of purpose she had as a nurse in the war and cannot settle as a housewife despite her love for Tommy and son George. When the opportunity is presented to aide British Intelligence in the defence of her country she jumps at the chance to put herself, and her less willing husband, in harms way. Major Anthony Carter (James Fleet) is Tommy's uncle and head of 'The Third Floor', a branch of British Military Intelligence. In the war Carter knew who the enemy was but now in the 1950's the adversary is a new type of spy. Carter tries to protect his hapless nephew Tommy and his wife Tuppence as they become involved in his new war. Albert Pemberton (Matthew Steer) is a chemistry teacher and part-time agent for Carter.

He met Tommy in hospital when he was recovering from losing a hand while working for a bomb disposal unit. He assists Tommy and Tuppence when they require more technical knowledge and revels in their adventures.

Cast James Fleet as Major Anthony Carter Matthew Steer as Albert Pemberton Miles Roughley as George Beresford Guest stars Clarke Peters as Julius Hersheimmer (Episodes 1-3) Alice Krige as Rita Vandemeyer (Episodes 1-3) Paul Brennen as Lucky (Episodes 1-3) Jonny Phillips as Whittington (Episodes 1-3) Andrew Havill as James Peel (Episodes 1-3) Camilla Marie Beeput as Jane Finn (Episodes 1-3) Ed Speleers as Carl Denim (Episodes 4-6) Roy Marsden as Commander Haydock (Episodes 4-6) Alyy Khan as Major Khan (Episodes 4-6) Danny Lee Wynter as Gilbert Worthing (Episodes 4-6) Christina Cole as Mrs Sprot (Episodes 4-6) Aoife McMahon as Sheila Perenna (Episodes 4-6) Pinar Ogun as Veronika Urbanowicz (Episodes 4-6) Robert Hands as Mr Hinton (Episodes 4-6) Issy Van Randwyck as Mrs Hinton (Episodes 4-6) Tam

 Williams as Harrison (Episodes 4-6) Hannah Waddingham as Blonde Assassin (Episodes 4-6) (The actors David Walliams and Christina Cole have also had minor roles in the TV series Agatha Christie's Marple , respectively in the episodes "The Body in the Library" and "The Murder at the Vicarage" ).

Episodes

Question: Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were the leading characters in which drama series?
Answer: Partners in Crime