We love a BBC Agatha Christie adaptation - never mind one led by the legend that is Angelica Huston! The famous author’s crime novel Towards Zero is set to receive a three-part series on the network starring some very famous faces.
The Invisible Man star Oliver Jackson-Cohen stars as Nevile Strange, a British tennis star while Fifteen-Love Ella Lily Hyland stars as his ex-wife, Audrey.
What is Towards Zero about?
Set in 1936, the series synopsis reads: “After a scandalous celebrity divorce, British tennis star Nevile Strange and his ex-wife Audrey 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, played by Anjelica Huston.
“With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile’s new wife Kay, 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?”
Who is in the cast?
As well as the incredible leading stars, the cast will include Motherland actress Jackie Clune, Call the Midwife’s Grace Doherty, Poldark actor Jack Farthing, Mary and George’s Khalil Gharbia and Sex Education star Mimi Keene. The Americans actor Matthew Rhys, Black Mirror star Anjana Vasan and The Wire’s Clarke Peters are also set to star.
Speaking about the show, Angelica said: “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.”
Director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt, said: “For a writer whose work remains globally famous yet quintessentially British, it feels incredibly fitting that Towards Zero has attracted such a dazzling array of UK talent on both sides of the camera, alongside some exciting international names and Hollywood royalty. It’s an honour to partner with Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen to bring this tense, surprising and magnetic new adaptation to BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”
Executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited, James Prichard, added: “This is a very special production. Rachel has done an extraordinary job of making my great-grandmother's story even more dramatic, intense and troubling. Add in a cast of this calibre and viewers are in for a real treat.”