First Look: Mammoth Screen's new Agatha Christie

The BBC has released first-look pictures of Towards Zero, based on the classic mystery by Agatha Christie. Adapted for screen by Rachel Bennette (NW) and directed by Sam Yates (Magpie), Towards Zero is made by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, in a co-commission with BritBox International. Fifth Season handle global distribution.

Towards Zero follows 2023’s hit Christie adaptation Murder is Easy, which was one of the UK’s most watched dramas of last year across all channels and streamers, averaging 7 million viewers across both parts.

Featuring coastal views, heated summer soirees, and a trip to Wimbledon Centre Court, the new pictures give a first glimpse at Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston), Inspector Leach (Matthew Rhys) and British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) – seen here with the two ladies in his life: ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) and new wife Kay (Mimi Keene). Clarke Peters, Anjana Vasan, and Jack Farthing are also seen in the new pictures from the series, which co-stars Jackie Clune (Motherland), Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife), Khalil Gharbia (Mary & George), and Adam Hugill (Sherwood).

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?

Writer, Rachel Bennette, says: “These are among the richest and most complex of Christie’s characters, and I was captivated from the first by the charisma, in particular, of her female characters. It has been thrilling to bring them all to life in this disturbing tale of truth and lies, love and hate, a story which unfolds amidst the dark, cinematic glamour of the 1930s, yet feels startlingly of our time.”

Director, Sam Yates, says: “It has been an honour to bring this most psychological and sensual of Agatha Christie’s stories to vibrant life with a peerless cast of actors and an extraordinary team. Audiences are in for a propulsive, intoxicating ride into the dark hearts of some of Christie’s most irresistible characters.”

Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero (3×60’) is produced by Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen (part of ITV Studios), and is a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International. It is adapted by Rachel Bennette, directed by Sam Yates and produced by Rebecca Durbin. Executive producers are James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited, Sheena Bucktowonsing and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC and Jon Farrar, Stephen Nye and Robert Schildhouse for BritBox International.

Filming on Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero took place in and around Bristol and on the Devon coast. The series will air next year on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and outside of the UK on BritBox International’s streaming service in the US and Canada.

(Images: BBC/Mammoth Screen/James Pardon and Nick Wall)