Agatha Christie documentary series ‘Mystery Queen’ explores her life story
Lucy Worsley is going to host a new factual series about the life of Agatha Christie!
The BBC’s three-part documentary is titled Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen.
Born in 1890 in Torquay, Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie is the most successful novelist of all time, outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible.
She wrote 75 novels, plays and countless short stories before she died in 1970, defining the detective genre for over a century.
The most recent Poirot movie finally arrived in cinemas earlier this year, with BritBox’s adaptation of Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? also premiering in April.
Exploring “the real woman behind the literary persona,” the three 60-minute episodes will see presenter Lucy Worsley turn her historian’s powers of investigation onto Agatha herself.
The official synopsis reads: “This is the story of one of the most famous – and most complex – woman of the 20th century. Looked at through Lucy’s expert eyes, Christie’s life becomes a dynamic history of the 20th century. Over its course, Agatha Christie witnessed untold upheaval: not just two World Wars, but revolutions in scientific understanding and extraordinary social change.
“Attitudes to everything from class and gender to race and Empire, science and technology were questioned and challenged. And touched by these changes in very personal ways, she ploughed all of it into her books.
“For the first time Agatha Christie and her art will be forensically examined, providing a unique portrait of a society in flux. Her books hold a mirror to 20th century Britain and provide a remarkable window into a remarkable mind.”
The series was announced recently as part a new line up of upcoming factual arts content from the BBC.
BBC Director of Unscripted content Kate Phillips commented at a launch event in September: “I’ve been in my new role for four months and I’ve been blown away by the sheer range, scale and quality of programming coming out of the Factual, Arts and Classical Music departments.
“From stand-out documentaries like The Real Mo Farah and Freddie’s Field Of Dreams, to the BBC Proms and the launch of Frozen Planet II, the team here are at the very top of their game, bringing audiences high impact, uniquely public service content at its very best.
“We’ve got plenty more to look forward to in the months ahead and I’m excited to unveil such an impressive array of diverse new content featuring big and upcoming talent, and bringing us new perspectives, incredible access and big moments for everyone.”
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen will premiere in the UK this winter on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
It’ll air in the US on PBS.
A drama series about Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance in 1926 is also in development.
Poirot: The Complete Cases Collection box set is available on DVD on Amazon.