geraldine

Agatha Christie's Marple star Geraldine McEwan's career in pictures 

The actress passed away in 2015 aged 82 

TV & Film Editor
October 19, 2020

Geraldine McEwan was a beloved actress who was perhaps best known for playing Agatha Christie's most famous heroine, Miss Marple herself, in Agatha Christie's Marple, until she retired from the role in 2009. She sadly passed away in 2015 aged 82.

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Now that the show is back on ITV3, we have taken a look back at the actress' amazing career...

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Geraldine had a hugely successful theatre career from the 1950s to the 1970s, and starred in Who Goes There!, The Entertainer and The School of Scandal to name but a few! In the throwback snap below, she can be seen ironing clothes during a performance of For Better, For Worse in 1952. 

Geraldine in For Better, For Worse

She spent a season in Stratford where she performed a series of Shakespeare plays. During that time, she plays Olivia in Twelfth Night and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. She also played Ophelia in Hamlet and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing when she returned for another season in 1961. In the below snap, Geraldine can be seen as Hero in the 1958 production. 

Geraldine, right, played Hero in Much Ado About Nothing

In 1978, Geraldine played Jean Brodie herself in a television adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie where, according to her obituary in The Telegraph, she was author Muriel Spark's favourite choice for the role. 

Geraldine in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Of course, such an amazing career means that Geraldine won several awards through her lifetime, including two Evening Standard Theatres Awards and a BAFTA. In this 1995 photo, Geraldine had won Best Actress for The Way of the World at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, while Michael Gambon had won Best Actor for Volpone. 

Miss Marple herself with Michael Gambon in 1995

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In 2003, Geraldine was cast as Miss Marple, and told the New York Times: "I do enjoy playing very original and slightly eccentric characters. It is very amusing that Agatha Christie should have created this older woman who lives a very conventional life in a little country village and yet spends all her time solving violent crimes."

Geraldine said she was disappointed to retire from the role

Speaking about leaving the show in 2008, she said: "Of course, it is terribly disappointing to have to pass the baton on, but it has been a marvellous experience to inhabit this role for the last few years... It's been an absolute pleasure to work on Miss Marple since 2003, and I leave with fond memories."

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