''Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime'' is a 1983 British television series based on the short stories of the same name by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

. It was directed by Paul Annett, Tony Wharmby and Christopher Hodson, and starred

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 ...

and James Warwick in the leading roles of wife and husband sleuths Prudence 'Tuppence' and Tommy Beresford.

Reece Dinsdale Reece Dinsdale (born 6 August 1959) is an English actor and director. His credits include '' Threads'' (1984), '' A Private Function'' (1984), '' Winter Flight'' (1984), ''Home to Roost'' (1985—1990), ''Haggard'' (1990), '' ID'' (1994), ''H ...

co-starred as Albert in all but two episodes. The series follows the adventures and exploits of the Beresfords, who have recently taken over the running of a

detective agency A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Each episode features one of the stories from the

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

. Among these are a quest for missing

jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

, the investigation of

poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

s and a story involving poisoned

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

s. The series followed the short stories closely with two notable exceptions: First, the detective parodies, although alluded to on occasion, were for the most part dispensed with. Secondly, the

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

of the blue Russian letters and the search for the agent known as Number 16 were also dispensed with. For this reason three chapters ('' The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger'', '' Blindman's Bluff'' and '' The Man Who Was No. 16'') were not adapted. The series' original run was immediately preceded by transmission on 9 October 1983 of the same production team's adaptation of Christie's second novel ''

The Secret Adversary ''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 t ...

'', which also starred Annis and Warwick in the same roles and which acted as an introduction for viewers to ''Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime''. The series ran for one season between 16 October 1983 and 14 January 1984 with ten episodes. It was poorly received at the time, but was later shown in the United States, where John Tribe, the series graphic designer, won an award at the 1985

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Graphic and Title Design in recognition of the programme's title sequence. As of 2007, the series is regularly aired in the UK on the digital channel

ITV3 ITV3 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9 pm, replacing Plus (British TV channel), Plus ...

. Unavailable on DVD for a long period, it was released by

Acorn Media UK RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn Media, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media ...

on 2 September 2013.

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime 1983 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British crime television series 1980s British drama television series 1980s British mystery television series ITV television dramas London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows based on works by Agatha Christie Tommy and Tuppence