From the golden age of BBC drama to gripping modern reimaginings — your complete guide to streaming and buying every Christie adaptation.
★ New This Autumn
The first Christie property ever reimagined as a contemporary, English-language series. Antonia Thomas and Josh Dylan star as the will-they-won't-they crime-solving duo, with Imelda Staunton among the cast — premiering on BritBox on Christie's own birthday.
No writer has been adapted for screen as many times as Agatha Christie. Her 66 detective novels and 14 story collections have spawned hundreds of hours of television and film, with productions from Britain, the US, Japan, and beyond. This page covers the essential screen adaptations — where to find them, how to watch them, and why each one earns a place in your viewing queue.
★ Essential Viewing
The gold standard of Christie adaptations. David Suchet spent 25 years inhabiting Hercule Poirot — working through every single Poirot novel and story ever written. The result is widely regarded as one of the standout achievements in Christie adaptations: meticulous, witty, and in its final seasons, genuinely moving. The early episodes are frothy period confections; the later ones tackle darkness head-on.
Read the full Poirot reading guide → · Best seasons ranked → · Shows like Poirot →
★ Essential Viewing
Joan Hickson was Agatha Christie's own choice to play Jane Marple — and the BBC delivered magnificently. These adaptations are unhurried, deeply English, and pleasingly faithful to the books. Hickson plays Marple as genuinely sharp and formidable beneath the genteel surface. Essential for anyone who loves classic British mysteries at their most refined.
BBC One · Three-part miniseries
Sarah Phelps's adaptation of Christie's best-selling novel is a revelation — dark, stylish, and genuinely terrifying. Ten strangers, an isolated island, and a nursery rhyme counting them down. This is Christie stripped of coziness and played as pure psychological horror.
BBC One · Two-part miniseries
Another Sarah Phelps gem. Kim Cattrall plays the glamorous murder victim at the centre of this taut courtroom thriller, with Toby Jones as the weary solicitor and Andrea Riseborough as the enigmatic Romaine. Nothing is what it seems.
BBC One · Three-part series
John Malkovich plays an ageing, diminished Poirot in this bold reimagining that reworks the novel's themes around xenophobia and identity. Divisive but riveting — and beautifully designed throughout.
BBC One · Three-part series
A family is rocked when a man who could have cleared their convicted son arrives too late. Lush 1950s production design and a cast that includes Bill Nighy and Anna Chancellor elevate this tense, atmospheric thriller.
BBC One · Two-part series
Rufus Sewell stars in this gripping adaptation of one of Christie's non-series novels. A list of names found in a dead woman's shoe leads to murder, witchcraft, and a sinister village. Stylish and genuinely unsettling.
BritBox · Three-part series
Hugh Laurie directs this buoyant, sun-drenched adaptation with Will Poulter and Lucy Boynton. A light adventure mystery — closer to Christie's playful mode than her darker novels. Great fun.
ITV · Geraldine McEwan & Julia McKenzie
The ITV series took liberties with the source material — adding characters, changing endings — but produced some genuinely enjoyable mysteries. Geraldine McEwan's mischievous first three series are the highlight. Enormous casts of British acting talent throughout.
BBC / LWT · Various Christie specials
A run of standalone Christie TV films from the late 1970s and early 1980s — including Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980) and The Seven Dials Mystery (1981). Warm, charming productions with impeccable British casts. Now harder to find but rewarding.
Streaming availability changes. Always verify current availability on each platform's website.
1989–2013
All 13 series. BritBox most reliable.
1984–1992
Complete set. Also available on DVD.
2004–2013
All 6 series.
BBC, 2015
All 3 parts.
BBC, 2016
Both parts.
BBC, 2018
All 3 episodes.
BBC, 2018
All 3 parts.
BBC, 2020
Both parts.
2022
BritBox original — exclusive.
The adaptations are wonderful — but Christie's prose is something else entirely. These are the essential titles to start with.
All 39 Poirot novels in one collection. The natural companion to David Suchet's definitive adaptation — and endlessly re-readable.
Get the BookAll 12 Miss Marple novels. Perfect for fans of the Joan Hickson BBC classics — and a lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Get the BookThe world's best-selling mystery novel. Read it before or after the BBC adaptation — either way, the ending will stun you.
Get the BookThe twist that changed detective fiction forever. Still astonishing nearly a hundred years on — and best read knowing as little as possible.
Get the BookPoirot at his most theatrical. Essential reading alongside any of the screen adaptations — and one of the great puzzle plots in all of fiction.
Get the BookChristie's own life story — candid, warm, and surprisingly funny. A wonderful companion to a lifetime of her fiction.
Get the BookNew to Christie? Start with And Then There Were None — it requires no prior knowledge of Poirot or Marple, works as a standalone, and is genuinely impossible to put down.
All 13 series · 33 discs
The definitive home for David Suchet's complete run. All 70 episodes from 1989 to 2013, presented in original broadcast order. A proper collectible set for Christie enthusiasts.
Joan Hickson · All 12 films
All twelve BBC films starring Joan Hickson in one elegant box set. These productions are a masterclass in British period television — unhurried, well-observed, and beautifully cast throughout.
More hand-picked recommendations from the editors of British TV Hub.
The writers who followed in Christie's footsteps, from M.C. Beaton to Richard Osman, and where to start with each one.
Read Guide →
A full breakdown of the streaming services that carry British mysteries and dramas, from BritBox to Acorn TV.
Read Guide →
A hand-picked, monthly-updated rundown of British mystery and drama shows worth streaming right now.
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