Poirot Series 13: Dead Man's Folly Preview

"Having the opportunity to film there was truly wonderful" David Suchet

©ITV 

Dead Man's Folly is the third episode in the thirteenth and final series and will be broadcast of ITV on Wednesday 30th October at 8pm. Not only does this episode feature Zoe Wanamaker in her final appearance as crime novelist Ariadne Oliver but it was filmed at Agatha Christie's home Greenway House! This is certainly going to be an episode to remember. It was adapted by Nick Dear (Elephants Can Remember, Mrs McGinty's Dead), directed by Tom Vaughan (Endeavour) and produced by David Boulter (Elephants Can Remember, The Big Four). It was filmed on location at Greenway House in June 2013 and was the final episode to be filmed.

Here is ITV's description: 

"In an effort to beguile their Devonshire neighbours, wealthy financier Sir George Stubbs (Sean Pertwee) and his ‘subnormal’ wife Hattie (Stephanie Leonidas) prepare to stage a grand summer fête in the grounds of their new acquisition, Nasse House. 

 

No expense is spared, and the lawn is soon bustling with visitors keen to have their fortune told, to compete in the fancy dress and to try their hand at the coconut shy. And then there is the ultimate challenge: a fiendishly complicated ‘murder hunt’ prepared by the famous mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver (Zoë Wanamaker).

 

But Ariadne is perturbed. Convinced that someone is ‘jockeying her along’, she insists on the presence of her old friend Hercule Poirot (David Suchet), who reluctantly agrees to apply his uniquely analytical mind to a crime that, as yet, only exists in Ariadne’s imagination.

 

The denizens and friends of Nasse are certainly an awkward and pernicious bunch: Poirot soon encounters the local Member of Parliament Captain Warburton (Martin Jarvis) and his imperious wife Mrs Warburton (Rosalind Ayres), squabbling holidaymakers Alec and Sally Legge (Daniel Weyman and Emma Hamilton), lecherous architect Michael Weyman (James Anderson), rambling ferryman John Merdell (Sam Kelly) and the fête’s uninvited guest, urbane foreigner Etienne De Souza (Elliot Barnes-Worrell). And then there is Amy Folliat (Sinead Cusack), once the proud owner of Nasse, and now Sir George’s pauperised lodger. 

 

Any one of them could be the killer; any one of them could be the victim.

But what actually happens is utterly bewildering. Girl guide Marlene Tucker, volunteer actor in Ariadne’s murder hunt, is found strangled to death in the secluded boathouse. It seems like a motiveless act; but of course it is not. 

 

As Poirot and Ariadne try to pick their way through Nasse’s web of secrets and lies, another mystery presents itself – the vanishing of vulnerable Hattie Stubbs.

Where is Hattie? Who killed Marlene? Who really authored Ariadne’s murder hunt? What is the significance of Sir George’s ghastly folly? And can it be true that this is a mystery the great Hercule Poirot cannot solve?" 

"Everyday is a highlight, the character is so much fun to play." Zoe Wanamaker

©ITV

David Suchet said in an ITV interview: "Having the opportunity to film there [Greenway] was truly wonderful and a memory I will cherish." 

Zoe Wanamaker said "Everyday is a highlight, the character is so much fun to play... I've enjoyed reading the books, going through each story and finding out new clues about her [Ariadne], she's been a joy to play." 

Tom Ellis (Miranda), who plays D.I.Bland said "It din't feel like the end of filming, it felt like an end of an era."  

This is based on a wonderful book, so I am sure it will be another sublime adaption. 

There is news that Dead Man's Folly: The Game will be released as an app on Apple and Android devices. I  will write a separate post on this news tomorrow. 

Cast list:

 

Hercule Poirot - David Suchet  

Ariadne Oliver - Zoë Wanamaker

Hattie Stubbs - Stephanie Leonidas

Bickford - Chris Gordon

Sir George Stubbs - Sean Pertwee

D.I. Bland - Tom Ellis

Henden - Richard Dixon

Amy Folliat - Sinead Cusack

Miss Brewis - Rebecca Front

Captain Warburton - Martin Jarvis

Michael Weyman - James Anderson

John Merdell - Sam Kelly

Mrs Warburton - Rosalind Ayres

Alec Legge - Daniel Weyman

Sally Legge - Emma Hamilton

Marlene Tucker - Ella Geraghty

Etienne De Souza - Elliot Barnes-Worrell

Sergeant Hoskins - Nicholas Woodeson

Gertie - Angel Witney

Dutch Hiker - Francesca Zoutewelle

Tune into twitter at 7.45 on Wednesday for my live feed on Dead Man's Folly. Feel free to join in, use the the hashtag #