The cast of Towards Zero includes Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland, Mimi Keene and Anjelica Houston.
Anyone for tennis? The BBC have announced the start of filming on their latest Agatha Christie adaptation.
Following 2023’s Murder Is Easy, the next story to become a television drama is the 1944 novel Towards Zero.
The show comes from producers Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited, in a co-commission from the BBC and BritBox International. Rachel Bennette (World On Fire) writes and Sam Yates (Magpie) directs. Interestingly, it’s not the director’s first brush with Christie – he helmed the 2019 movie Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar.
Hollywood legend Anjelica Houston leads the cast, alongside Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Wilderness), Ella Lily Hyland and Mimi Keene (Sex Education).
Here’s the synopsis
England, 1936. After a scandalous celebrity divorce, British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and his ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) make the unthinkable decision to spend a summer together at Gull’s Point, their childhood home and the coastal estate of Nevile’s aunt, Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston).
With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile’s new wife Kay (Mimi Keene), tensions are running high. Add to this a long-suffering lady’s companion, a mysterious gentleman’s valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man, and soon there will be murder. A troubled detective must rediscover his purpose to untangle a toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Can he solve the crime before another victim meets their death?
An explosive love triangle, a formidable matriarch and a house party of enemies. All compelled… Towards Zero.
Also announced are Jackie Clune (Motherland), Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife), Jack Farthing (Rain Dogs), Khalil Gharbia (Mary & George), Adam Hugill (Sherwood), Clarke Peters (The Wire), Matthew Rhys (The Americans) and Anjana Vasan (Black Mirror: Demon 79).
Anjelica Huston says:
“I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie and the murder-mystery genre and always love the opportunity to film in England. I am thrilled to be working with director Sam Yates and this wonderful cast, and excited to play the clever and dignified Camilla, Lady Tressilian.”
With filming currently underway in Bristol and Devon, there’s no suggestion of a transmission date for Towards Zero. However, we’d imagine the three-part drama is destined for the festive period.
You can find all the previous BBC Agatha Christie adaptations on BBC iPlayer.
They include And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders, The Pale Horse and Murder Is Easy.