Agatha Christie ‘would welcome’ the decision to change the race of the protagonist in latest BBC adaptation of her 1939 crime novel Murder Is Easy

Agatha Christie’s great-grandson has suggested she would have ‘welcomed’ the BBC’s decision to change the race of the protagonist in the new adaptation of the crime writer’s 1939 novel Murder is Easy. 

In the BBC’s new series, the lead role of Luke Fitzwilliam – a retired police officer who investigates a serial killer in an English village-  will be played by David Jonsson. 

The role had previously been played by Benedict Cumberbatch in a 2009 series. 

In 2022, Jonsson was named best actor at the Black British Theatre Awards and he previously appeared on the BBC’s Industry and ITV’s Endeavour. 

Previous changes to Christie’s work for modern adaptations have occasionally provoked ire, however her great-grandson James Pritchard has said in general his ancestor appreciated ‘radical adaptations of her work.’ 

In the BBC’s new series, the lead role of Luke Fitzwilliam will be played by David Jonsson (left)

Agatha Christie’s great-grandson has suggested she would have ‘welcomed’ changes to her work

The novel concerns a retired police officer who investigates a serial killer in an English village

Mr Pritchard, who is an executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited which holds the rights to her entire works, stressed that with all adaptions production companies had a ‘degree of license to change things.’  

He told the Radio Times: ‘I also believe these are adaptations, not translations, and you are always looking at the story from where you are now, 90 years after this was first written.

How the BBC has changed Christie

And Then There Were None – 2015

The BBC’s three-part adaptation of Christie’s most famous novel – in which ten people are murdered on an island – provoked anger due to mature content. 

The BBC’s adaptation included several sex scenes and lude swearing not found in the novel. 

The Witness for the Prosecution – 2016 

Fans were also left aghast when sex scenes and swearing were added to the material. 

The ABC Murders – 2018

In the mini series, John Malkovich played the role of Hercule Poirot. 

The adaptation contained references  to the British Union of Fascists and Oswald Mosely that were not in the novel. 

Ordeal by Innocence – 2018 

This mini series starred Bill Nighy in the role of Leo Argyll from the 1958 novel. 

In a shock twist, Nighy’s character was made the murderer , despite the novel’s original murderer being a female housekeeper. 

‘The first few adaptations of her plays were done by other people, and she didn’t like them because she didn’t think they were radical enough for the change in medium.’ 

Recent BBC adaptations of Christie’s work have drawn the ire of some fans due to graphic content. 

In 2015, the BBC’s three-part adaptation of Christie’s most famous novel And Then There Were None provoked anger due to mature content. 

The BBC’s adaptation included several sex scenes and lude swearing not found in the novel. 

TV writer Sarah Phelps, who wrote And Then There Were None amongst others, said that the changes were justified. 

Defending her creative decisions in 2020, Phelps said: ‘Yes, of course I’ve taken liberties. Have I changed a load of stuff? Yeah, of course I have, loads and loads and loads of stuff. 

‘Otherwise you’d have 30 hours of TV and would you want to watch it? No.

‘But, you always go for the beating heart of what she’s getting at.’

In March this year, it was revealed that some of Christie’s books were to be rewritten to eliminate verbiage that has been deemed insensitive or inappropriate. 

Several of the passages in the author’s Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries were reportedly reworked or stripped altogether from new editions of the books.

Publisher HarperCollins eliminated text containing ‘insults or references to ethnicity’, as well as descriptions of certain characters’ physiques, The Telegraph reported.

New editions of Ms Christie’s novels, reviewed by the newspaper, showed that editors have made ‘scores of changes’ to her books.

The novels, penned between 1920 and 1976, were stripped of sections of ‘unsympathetic’ dialogue, apparent insults and character descriptions.

The BBC’s new adaptation of Murder is Easy will be screened over the Christmas holidays 

The BBC’s adaptation of and Then There Were None was criticised by some for mature content 

For example, the word ‘Oriental’ has been removed from her 1937 mystery Death on the Nile, which follows sleuth Hercule Poirot as he investigates a murder on a luxury cruise.

READ MORE: Now Agatha Christie novels are being rewritten

The publisher changed dialogue of character of Mrs Allerton, who was complaining about pestering children. 

The original text said: ‘They come back and stare, and stare, and their eyes are simply disgusting, and so are their noses, and I don’t believe I really like children.’

The rewritten version reportedly reads: ‘They come back and stare, and stare. And I don’t believe I really like children.’

The publisher also eliminated the n-word from character dialogue and Ms Christie’s prose.

Ms Christie’s novels have been altered in the past. Her 1939 book was retitled And Then There Were None after its original name featured a racist term.

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