Hercule Poirot (, ) is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and short stories adapted by Michael Bakewell, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1985 and 2007. With the exception of the first two adaptations, the series stars John Moffatt as Poirot.
Production The series consists of 27 full cast radio adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories, adapted by Michael Bakewell and broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
After the first adaptation, the six episode The Mystery of the Blue Train of 1985 (directed by David Johnston), all following productions were directed and produced by Enyd Williams. For Williams's first production, Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Peter Sallis played Poirot, but she recalled in The Radio Detectives that "I enjoyed very much working with Peter Sallis...but he's not a very happy person doing accents so we decided to leave it there." She subsequently cast John Moffatt, a member of the Radio Drama Company, in the role and he reprised the part for a further 25 productions between 1987 and 2007."John Moffatt", The Times, 21 September 2012"John Moffatt", The Daily Telegraph, 17 September 2012 Archived copy at WebCite (27 August 2011).
Adaptations in the series were released on CD and are regularly rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. According to a press release in December 2020, Hercule Poirot episodes are one of the most requested programmes on BBC Sounds alongside Miss Marple. The major omission from the series was the final Poirot novel - Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case - for which the rights proved unattainable.Caroline Raphael. 'Letter: Michael Bakewell obituary', in The Guardian, 24 August, 2023
Cast The main character, private detective Hercule Poirot, appears in each production and was played by John Moffatt in all the dramatisations except the first two, in which he was played by Maurice Denham and Peter Sallis respectively.
Captain Hastings, Poirot's companion in several stories, was played by Simon Williams in Lord Edgware Dies, The ABC Murders, Peril at End House, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and Dumb Witness, and Jeremy Clyde in Murder on the Links. Police detective Inspector Japp was played by Philip Jackson (reprising his role from the TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot) in The ABC Murders, Death In The Clouds, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Norman Jones in Lord Edgware Dies, and Bryan Pringle in Peril at End House.
Crime fiction writer Ariadne Oliver was played by Stephanie Cole in Hallowe'en Party and Cards on the Table, and Julia McKenzie in Elephants Can Remember, Mrs McGinty's Dead, and Dead Man's Folly. Colonel Race, a British intelligence agent, was played by Donald Sinden in Death on the Nile and Cards on the Table.
Multiple actors played different characters in separate adaptations. For instance, Donald Sinden, who played Colonel Race, also played Colonel Lacey in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. Two other examples are Mary Wimbush, who played Mrs Lorrimer in Cards on the Table and Mrs Leadbetter in Taken at the Flood, and Michael Cochrane, who played Sir Charles Cartwright in Three Act Tragedy and Sir George Stubbs in Dead Man's Folly.
List of adaptations No. Title First broadcast Notes1The Mystery of the Blue Train29 December 19856 episodes starring Maurice Denham as Poirot, directed by David Johnston.2Hercule Poirot's Christmas24 December 1986Part of a "Murder for Christmas" strand, starring Peter Sallis as Poirot, directed by Enyd Williams.3 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd24 December 1987Part of a "Crime at Christmas" strand, with John Moffatt as Poirot, who played the role for all future episodes.4 Murder on the Links15 September 1990Saturday Night Theatre5 Lord Edgware Dies (a.k.a. Thirteen at Dinner)18 March 19925 episodes6 Sad Cypress14 May 19925 episodes7 Murder on the Orient Express28 December 19925 episodes8 Hallowe'en Party30 October 1993Saturday Night Theatre9 Five Little Pigs18 June 1994Saturday Night Theatre10 Murder in Mesopotamia26 December 19945 episodes11 Death on the Nile2 January 19975 episodes12 Evil Under the Sun6 April 19985 episodes13 After the Funeral28 August 1999The Saturday Play14 The A.B.C. Murders22 April 2000The Saturday Play15 Peril at End House20 November 20005 episodes16 Appointment with Death25 August 2001The Saturday Play17 Cards on the Table4 May 2002The Saturday Play18 Three Act Tragedy8 July 20025 episodes19 Death in the Clouds3 May 2003The Saturday Play20 Taken at the Flood13 October 20035 episodes21 One, Two, Buckle My Shoe30 August 20045 episodes22 The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding24 December 2004Afternoon Play23 The Mysterious Affair at Styles5 September 20055 episodes24 Elephants Can Remember7 January 2006The Saturday Play25 Mrs. McGinty's Dead3 March 20065 episodes26 Dumb Witness7 December 2006Afternoon Play, 2 episodes27Dead Man's Folly6 August 20074 episodes
Reception The Sunday Times wrote in 2004 that "Radio 4...relies on the same clever but unpublicised creative trio it has had since the 1980s: John Moffatt, who plays Poirot with such finesse, Michael Bakewell, who adapts the stories with clarify and affection; and Enyd Williams, the producer and director." Moffatt's portrayal of Hercule Poirot is cited in his obituaries as the definitive radio portrayal of the character.
See also Miss Marple (radio series) Lord Peter Wimsey (radio series) Sherlock Holmes (1989 radio series)
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