Travels with Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet sees the popular English actor, better known as ‘the definitive Hercule Poirot’, travel around the world, following in the footsteps of the Queen of mystery, Dame Agatha Christie.
Before becoming the world’s best-selling author, Agatha Christie embarked upon a world tour in 1922, aged 31. Her ten-month itinerary of the then British Empire took her across South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada. Now, 100 years on, Sir David Suchet, the most famous actor to play her most famous character, gets closer than ever to his literary hero, by following in Agatha Christie’s footsteps TVBIZZ Magazine’s Yako Molhov talked to Sir David Suchet and Catherine Abbot, the series’ producer, who shared details about the places they visited, the themes they explored and the people they met.
The high-end documentary series is produced by Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media, with Channel 4 in the UK, Britbox in North America and the Nordics and SBS in Australia having already acquired the series from distributor Sphere Abacus with premiere dates set for Q1 2025.
Catherine, Travels with Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet will follow Dame Agatha Christie’s expedition in the 1920s spanning Canada, Hawaii, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. How did you research her travels?
Catherine Abbot: Agatha Christie was traveling with her husband, Archie, as part of the British Empire Exhibition Mission, so we started with what the Mission got up to. Historic newspapers allowed us to track the Mission’s activities through reports and interviews that were being published at the time. What makes this an unusual travel series is that while the Mission hit some typical tourists’ hot spots like the West Coast of New Zealand, Agatha and the delegation spent a lot of their time visiting places that illustrated trade and innovation across the Empire – places like Waddamana Hydro-Electric Power Station in Tasmania, or the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, Canada. Digging into the history of these specific locations by exploring regional archives and talking to experts and locals on the ground threw up some fascinating stories and gave us an insight into what was happening in each of these countries during the 1920s. Of course, Agatha Christie wasn’t yet famous when she went on this journey in 1922, so while some of the locations we contacted knew about her visit, others were pleasantly surprised!
Each episode features one of those territories that the famous writer visited during the 20th century. What will the documentary focus on when showing such various locations, more than a century after the greatest mystery writer had visited them?
Catherine Abbot: A big focus for the series is looking at what these locations were like in Agatha›s day – what she would have seen and what she would have experienced – and how her time in these diverse places may have influenced her life and work. But just as important is our exploration of what was happening in each country in the 1920s – how people were living, how each country was dealing with the aftermath of the First World War, and what their relationship with Britain was like at this time. We also ask how things have, or haven’t changed in the last 100 years, and in each place we visit we see how inspiring individuals are grappling with and transforming the legacies of Empire and colonialism today. In fact, throughout the filming, the best way to explore all of these themes has been through the people David meets along the way. His warmth and enthusiasm are infectious, and witnessing these interactions has been one of the great joys of the project.
Sir David, filming Poirot has taken you to different locations. Now Travels with Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet has once again given you the chance to explore distant places. Was it easier to film and travel as Poirot or as yourself?
Sir David Suchet: It was much easier to travel as myself because POIROT hates travel!
What have been the reactions of people meeting you in the different countries where Travels with Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet was filmed? Do you have any amusing stories to share?
Sir David Suchet: I have been amazed and very humbled by people’s reactions from all over the globe! I was very warmly welcomed. My TV Poirot series is still being watched and enjoyed. I am sorry but I don’t really have any amusing stories.
You have worked in films, you have worked in television, and you have done a lot of live theatre. How is shooting this documentary series different from the work you have done so far and was it a challenge to shoot a documentary about Poirot’s creator, despite your previous experience shooting Being Poirot in 2013?
Sir David Suchet: Interesting question. I have only been a presenter for a few documentaries. Presenting these five hour long major documentaries about Agatha Christie has been really interesting and also very challenging. Challenging because I wanted to come across just as ‘me’ with a genuine interest about the author who became so much a part of my professional life. Being Poirot was about Poirot and these five documentaries are about Agatha Christie.
Can viewers expect for Travels with Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet to uncover lesser-known facts about the best-selling fiction writer of all time whose personal life is full of mysteries itself and did you find out many new things about her and about her work when filming the series?
Sir David Suchet: What was so fascinating for me was finding out about the character and personality of Agatha Christie at 32 years of age and before she became well known. At the start of her Empire Tour, she had only written one novel – her first Poirot novel – and she wasn’t even sure she would end up being a profession writer. I also discovered a young woman who appeared to be so very different from the publicity shy and withdrawn woman she became in later years. Filming these documentaries was truly an eye opener!
