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Hercule Poirot (radio Series)
''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. Production The series consists of 27 full cast radio adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories, adapted by Michael Bakewell and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. After the first adaptation, the six episode ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' of 1985 (directed by David Johnston), all following productions were directed and produced by Enyd Williams. For Williams's first production, ''Hercule Poirot's Christmas'', Peter Sallis played Poirot, but she recalled in ''The Radio Detectives'' that "I enjoyed very much working with Peter Sallis...but he's not a very happy person doing accents so we decided to leave it there." She subsequently cast John Moffatt, a member of the Radio Drama ...
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Radio Drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: "It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension." Radio drama includes plays specifically written for radio, docudrama, dramatized works of fiction, as well as plays originally written for the theatre, including musical theatre, and opera. Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s radio drama began losing its audience. However, it remains popular in much of the world. Recordings of OTR (old-time radio) survive today in the audio archives of collectors, libraries and museums, as well ...
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Captain Hastings
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'' (originally written in 1916) 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. Literary function Hastings is today strongly associated with Poirot, due more to the television adaptations than to the novels. Many of the early TV episodes of ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' were adaptations of short stories, in most of which he appeared in print. A few were stories into which he had been adapted (for example, ''Murder in the Mews''). In Christie's original writings, however, Hastings is not in every short story or novel. He is not a character in either ''Death on the Nile'' ...
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Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane is an English actor. Biography Cochrane was born in Brighton, East Sussex. He was educated at Cranleigh School. He has had many television and radio roles including Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'', '' The Pallisers'' (1974), '' Wings'' (1977–78), '' Love in a Cold Climate'' (1980), '' The Citadel'' (1983), a BBC serial adaptation of ''Goodbye Mr. Chips'' (1984), '' Raffles'' (1985–1993), '' No Job for a Lady'', '' The Chief'' (1990–1995), and as Sir Henry Simmerson in the '' Sharpe'' series. His film career has included roles in '' Escape to Victory'' (1981), '' The Return of the Soldier'' (1982), ''Real Life'' (1984), ''Number One Gun'' (1990), '' The Saint'' (1997), '' Incognito'' (1998), '' A Different Loyalty'' (2004) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). He has twice appeared in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', first as Charles Cranleigh in the serial '' Black Orchid'' (1982) and later as Redvers Fenn-Cooper in ...
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Mary Wimbush
Mary Wimbush (19 March 1924 – 31 October 2005) was an English actress whose career spanned 60 years. Active across film, television, theatre and radio, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1969 film ''Oh! What a Lovely War''. Her television credits included ''Poldark'' (1975–77), ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990–92), and ''Century Falls'' (1993). She played Julia Pargetter in BBC Radio 4's popular soap opera ''The Archers'', a part she played from 1992 until her death. Early life and education Wimbush was born on 19 March 1924 in Kenton, Middlesex (today in North-West London). Her father was a schoolmaster and her mother had trained at RADA, but did not pursue a stage career, although the family enjoyed taking part in amateur dramatics. They moved to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, when Mary was four. Wimbush was educated at the Berkhamsted School for Girls, and at St Agnes & St Michael's Convent, an Anglican school in East Grinstead. She t ...
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Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (1953 film)'', '' Doctor in the House'' (1954), '' Simba'' (1955), '' Eyewitness'' (1956) and '' Doctor at Large'' (1957). He then became highly regarded as an award-winning Shakespearean and West End theatre actor and television sitcom star, winning the 1977 Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for '' King Lear'', and starring in the sitcoms '' Two's Company'' (1975–79) and ''Never the Twain'' (1981–91). Early life Sinden was born in St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon on 9 October 1923, the middle child of chemist Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes (''née'' Fuller). His elder sister Joy became an English teacher at Claverham Community College in Battle, East Sussex, and younger brother Leon (1927–2015) became an actor. They gre ...
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Colonel Race
This page details the other fictional characters created by Agatha Christie in her stories about the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Captain Arthur Hastings Hastings first meets Poirot during his years as a private detective in Europe. Almost immediately after they both arrive in England, he becomes Poirot's partner, and appears in many of the novels and stories. Poirot's view of Hastings was of a man with plenty of imagination but not a great deal of brains. Hastings was capable of great bravery when the going got tough, facing death unflinchingly when confronted by the "Big Four" and showing unwavering loyalty towards Poirot. When forced to choose between Poirot and his wife in that novel, he chose Poirot. The two were an airtight team until Hastings met and married Dulcie Duveen, a beautiful music hall performer he met in ''The Murder on the Links''. They later emigrated to Argentina, leaving Poirot behind a "very unhappy old man". Ariadne Oliver A mystery writer who ...
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Julia McKenzie
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFTA Award nominated role as Hester Fields in the sitcom ''Fresh Fields'' (1984–1986) and its sequel ''French Fields'' (1989–1991), and as Miss Marple in ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (2009–2013). McKenzie has also starred in numerous musicals, receiving a 1977 Tony Award nomination for her work in the Broadway revue, ''Side by Side by Sondheim''. A six-time Olivier Award nominee, she has twice won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical; for the 1982 revival of ''Guys and Dolls'' and the 1993 revival of Stephen Sondheim's '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. She also starred in the original London productions of the Sondheim musicals ''Follies'' (1987) and ''Into the Woods'' (1990). Her film appearances include ' ...
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Stephanie Cole
Patricia Stephanie Cole (born 5 October 1941) is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as '' Tenko'' (1981–1985), ''Open All Hours'' (1982–1985), ''A Bit of a Do'' (1989), '' Waiting for God'' (1990–1994), ''Keeping Mum'' (1997–1998), '' Doc Martin'' (2004–2009), ''Cabin Pressure'' (2008–2014), ''Still Open All Hours'' (2013–present), '' Man Down'' (2014–2017) and as Sylvia Goodwin in ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (2011–2013). She won Best TV Actress at the 1992 British Comedy Awards for her role in ''Waiting For God'' and won Best Comedy Performance at the 2012 British Soap Awards for her role in ''Coronation Street''. She was made an OBE in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours. Early life Cole was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1958 to 1960 and went on to consolidate her acting skills in repertory theatres around the United Kingdom. ...
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Ariadne Oliver
Ariadne Oliver is a fictional character in the novels of Agatha Christie. She is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot. Profile Mrs Oliver often assists Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind. She often claims to be endowed with particular "feminine intuition", but it usually leads her astray. She is particularly fond of apples, which becomes a plot point in the novel ''Hallowe'en Party''. In the books, Oliver's most famous works are those featuring her vegetarian Finnish detective Sven Hjerson. Since she knows nothing of Finland, Oliver frequently laments Hjerson's existence. In many of her appearances, Oliver – and her feelings toward Hjerson – reflect Agatha Christie's own frustrations as an author, particularly with the Belgian Hercule Poirot (an example of self-insertion). The self-caricature has also been used to discuss Christie's own follies in her earlier novels. For instance, in ''Mrs McGinty's Dead'', Mrs Oliver talks of havi ...
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Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, he was brought up in the Lancashire town of Bolton. After boarding at St Bees School, Cumberland, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, winning the 1954 Bancroft Gold Medal and leaving in 1955. Three years later he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had two children. She died in 1999. Theatre work Pringle started as a member of the Old Vic company between 1955 and 1957, appearing with Coral Browne, John Neville, Claire Bloom and others in several Shakespeare plays and touring with four of them - '' Romeo and Juliet'', '' Richard II'', ''Troilus and Cressida'' and '' Macbeth'' - in the USA. He then moved to Nottingham Playhouse, where he appeared in the Willis Hall drama ''Boys It's All Hell'' and was the only cast memb ...
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Norman Jones (actor)
Norman Jones (16 June 1932Report by Toby Neal. – 23 April 2013) was an English actor, primarily on television. He appeared in three ''Doctor Who'' serials — ''The Abominable Snowmen'' (1967, as Khrisong), '' Doctor Who and the Silurians'' (1970, as Major Baker) and '' The Masque of Mandragora'' (1976, as Hieronymous). A native of Shropshire, Norman Jones was born at Donnington, son of coal miner Clar (''sic'') and his wife Florrie Jones. He was educated at Adams' Grammar School, Newport, Shropshire. After taking part in local amateur dramatics in Donnington, employment as a cost clerk at the Lilleshall Company and Sankey's in the area, and work at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, he began his screen career in 1962, the year of his 30th birthday. Over the following twenty-six years he appeared in numerous episodes of British TV series such as ''Crossroads'' (as milkman Ralph Palmer), '' The Professionals'', and ''The Sweeney'', where he was cast as Detective Inspector Per ...
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Philip Jackson (actor)
Philip Jackson (born 18 June 1948) is an English actor known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in both the television series ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' and in BBC Radio dramatisations of Poirot stories; as Melvin "Dylan" Bottomley in ''Porridge''; and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series '' Robin of Sherwood''. Life and career Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire. He started acting while studying Drama and German at the University of Bristol, and has worked in the theatre in Leeds, Liverpool and London. His stage work includes Pozzo in Samuel Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot'' at the Queen's Theatre in the West End in 1991 and Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's ''Death of a Salesman'' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds in 2010. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in '' Little Voice'' (1998). His many television appearances have included '' Coronation Street'', '' ...
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