This is not a TV review so it’s inappropriate to pick holes in the recent David Walliams serialisation of Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the plot has been moved, unnecessarily, from the 1920s to the Fifties and that the once youthful hero is now a mature married man with an uncanny resemblance to the late Frankie Howerd.
More importantly, the adaptation takes its title from the second book in the series rather than the original 1922 mystery thriller, The Secret Adversary, which introduces adventure-seeking Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Christie’s youngest detectives.
The duo, who are both adjusting to civilian life after the First World War, have barely two halfpennies to rub together and decided to advertise their services - they are willing "to do anything, go anywhere".
Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the plot has been moved, unnecessarily, from the 1920s to the Fifties and that the once youthful hero is now a mature married man with an uncanny resemblance to the late Frankie Howerd.
More importantly, the adaptation takes its title from the second book in the series rather than the original 1922 mystery thriller, The Secret Adversary, which introduces adventure-seeking Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Christie’s youngest detectives.
The duo, who are both adjusting to civilian life after the First World War, have barely two halfpennies to rub together and decided to advertise their services - they are willing "to do anything, go anywhere".