Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime is a 1983 British television series produced by London Weekend Television and based on the short story series of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was directed by John A. Davis and Tony Wharmby, and starred James Warwick and Francesca Annis in the leading roles of husband and wife sleuths Tommy and Prudence 'Tuppence' Beresford. Reece Dinsdale co-starred as Albert in all except episodes 3 and 5. Inspector Marriott (different spelling) was portrayed by Arthur Cox in four episodes.
The series follows the adventures and exploits of the Beresfords, who have recently taken over the running of a detective agency based in London, and each episode features one of the stories from the book. Among these are a quest for missing jewels, the investigation of poltergeists and a story involving poisoned chocolates.
The series followed the short stories closely with two notable exceptions: First, the detective parodies, although alluded to on occasion, were for the most part dispensed with. Secondly, the story arc of the blue Russian letters and the search for the agent known as Number 16 were also dispensed with. For this reason three chapters (The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger, Blindman's Buff and The Man Who Was No. 16) were not adapted.
The series' original run was immediately preceded by transmission on 9 October 1983 of the same production team's adaptation of Christie's second novel The Secret Adversary, which also starred Annis and Warwick in the same roles and which acted as an introduction for viewers to Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime.
The series ran for one season between 16 October 1983 and 14 January 1984 with ten episodes. It was poorly received at the time, but was later shown in the United States, where it won an award at the 1985 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Graphic and Title Design. As of 2007, the series is regularly aired in the UK on the digital channel ITV3. DVDs are available
Episode listing[]
- The Secret Adversary. Not actually an episode of the series, but a television adaptation preceding the series. The main cast is the same as the later episodes.
- The Affair of the Pink Pearl. Transmission date: 16 October 1983
- Finessing the King. Transmission date: 23 October 1983.
- The House of Lurking Death. Transmission date: 30 October 1983.
- The Sunningdale Mystery. Transmission date: 6 November 1983.
- The Clergyman's Daughter. Transmission date: 27 November 1983.
- The Ambassador's Boots. Transmission date: 4 December 1983.
- The Unbreakable Alibi. Transmission date: 11 December 1983.
- The Man in the Mist. Transmission date: 18 December 1983.
- The Case of the Missing Lady. Transmission date: 1 January 1984.
- The Crackler. Transmission date: 14 January 1984.