Ordeal By Innocence - An Agatha Christie murder-mystery with a jet-black heart
Delayed from Christmas after allegations of sexual misconduct against one of the stars, Ed Westwick, Ordeal By Innocence (Sundays, BBC1, 9pm) had to be reshot with a new actor (Christian Cooke).
Fortunately, much like Ernie Wise’s wig, you couldn’t see the join.
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Hide AdOne of Christie’s lesser-known works, this was set in a 1950s world of croquet, tea on the lawn and the minute-by-minute sparking up of cigarettes.
Watch the trailer for Ordeal By InnocenceRepressed emotions – anger, misery, sex – seethed and bubbled beneath the genteel surface and the claustrophobic manor house in which much of the action occurred trembled on the edge of an eruption of ‘feelings’.
The plot revolves around the murder of the matriarch of the family, Rachel Argyll (Anna Chancellor). Her adopted son Jack is accused of the dastardly deed, and later dies in a prison brawl. Months later, and a man claiming to be Jack’s alibi pitches up on the eve of the wedding of Leo Argyll (Bill Nighy), Rachel’s husband, to his secretary Gwenda, clearly a gold-digger.
This three-parter is beautifully shot – one image of veiled, black-clad mourners in front of a white silk-lined coffin was particularly striking – and stars pop out of every corner.
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Hide AdAt first glance, this was just another comfortable bank holiday chintz-athon, but it takes the source novel and adds a black heart, where everyone has something to hide, and no one is innocent. Terrific.
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