Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was a British author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a moniker which is now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays, and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, introducing her fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head on 21 January 1921.
Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion-chronicler and best friend of the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in Christie's 1920 novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles and appears as a character in seven other Poirot novels, including the final one Curtain: Poirot's Last Case (1975), along with a play and many short stories. He is also the narrator of several of them.
Inspector James Japp is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.
The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $1.75.
Peter Hayden Dinklage is an American actor. Portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), Dinklage won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series a record four times. He also received a Golden Globe Award in 2011 and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2020 for the role. Dinklage has a common form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia, and stands 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) tall. He has used his celebrity status to raise social awareness of dwarfism.
Alice Eva Lowe is an English actress, writer, director, and comedian. She has appeared as Dr. Haynes in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. She wrote, directed, and starred in the 2016 film Prevenge and starred in and co-wrote the 2012 film Sightseers. She also starred in the educational children's television series Horrible Histories.
Anthony Calf is an English actor. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He had recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as DAC Robert Strickland. He has also worked in theatre, where his credits include productions of The Madness of George III with the National Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream, The false servant at the National Theatre and Rock'n Roll at the Duke of York's Theatre. He was nominated as best actor in the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2008 for his work in Uncle Vanya at the Gate Theatre. He was featured in King Charles III on Broadway in 2015.
Beatrice Edney is an English actress. She is best known for playing Heather MacLeod in Highlander (1986), and Prudie Paynter in Poldark (2015-2019).
Gillian Betty Merrison, better known by her stage name Gillian Barge was an English stage, television and film actress.
Himesh Jitendra Patel is a British actor. He began his career portraying Tamwar Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2007–2016). This was followed by roles in the Channel 4 sitcom Damned (2016–2018) and the films Yesterday (2019) and Tenet (2020).
John Patrick Vivian Flynn is a British actor and musician. He starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom Lovesick and has also portrayed David Bowie in the 2020 film Stardust and a young Nicholas Winton in the 2023 film One Life.
Jessica Faye Gunning is an English actress. She has appeared in the TV series White Heat (2012), What Remains (2013), Back (2017–2021), and The Outlaws (2021–2024). For her breakout role in the miniseries Baby Reindeer (2024), she won a Primetime Emmy Award.
John Bradley West is an English actor, best known for his role as Samwell Tarly in the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.
Peter Dinklage is an American actor and producer. He studied acting at the Bennington College where he starred in a number of amateur stage productions. He made his film debut in the 1995 comedy-drama Living in Oblivion. After appearing in a series of supporting parts in much of the 1990s and early 2000s, he made his breakthrough by starring in the Tom McCarthy-directed comedy-drama The Station Agent (2003), which had him play a railroad-obsessed introvert who inherits an abandoned train depot. He was cast in the role by director Tom McCarthy who recalled fondly his appearance in McCarthy's play The Killing Act (1995). For his performance, he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Actor and an Independent Spirit Awards nomination for Best Male Lead. In the same year, Dinklage played the title role in the play Richard III at The Public Theater. He also played a children's book author in the comedy Elf. In 2006, he appeared in the Sidney Lumet-directed crime film Find Me Guilty. He followed with roles in the films Underdog (2007), the British film Death at a Funeral (2007), with its American remake of the same name (2010) and Trumpkin in the high fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).
Vivian Nneka O. Oparah is a British actress and musician. For her performance in the film Rye Lane (2023), she won a British Independent Film Award and received a British Academy Film Award nomination. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off Class (2016) and the Amazon Prime series Dead Hot (2024).
Patricia Ferran is a Spanish-British actress. She has received a number of accolades for her work in theatre, including a Laurence Olivier Award.
Philip James Dunster is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Sky One drama Strike Back (2017–2018), the Channel 4 science fiction series Humans (2018), the ITV comedy-drama The Trouble with Maggie Cole (2020), the Apple TV+ sports series Ted Lasso (2020–2023), and the Amazon Prime thriller The Devil's Hour (2022). For his role in Ted Lasso, Dunster was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2023.
Hercule Poirot is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and short stories adapted by Michael Bakewell, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1985 and 2007. With the exception of the first two adaptations, the series stars John Moffatt as Poirot.
