A dark night, carved Jack-o-Lanterns glowing, the stormy driveway of a grand house, and inside the mansion, little children playing innocent games of apple bobbing and snap dragon – so begins the latest instalment from Poirot.
With echoes of magic from the past and witches bursting through the windows, the Belgian detective could be forgiven for suspecting a malign force of being involved with the crimes at little Woodleigh Common. However, his cynical view of human nature soon leads him to a far more earthly conclusion.
In this spooky special, there is everything needed to get in the mood for Hallowe’en – even some well timed derision of the impulse to dress up and celebrate death from the unimpressed European PI. For those averse to the horror genre, it is unlikely that a less terrifying programme will be on the schedule. But what it lacks in bloodcurdling it makes up for in gossip and intrigue.
Cast List:
- Hercule Poirot – David Suchet
- Ariadne Oliver – Zoe Wanamaker
- Rowena Drake – Deborah Findlay
- Judith – Amelia Bullmore
- Michael Garfield – Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Rev. Cottrell – Timothy West
- Miss Whittaker – Fenella Woolgar
- Frances Drake – Georgia King
- Edmund Drake – Ian Hallard
- Mrs Goodbody – Paola Dionisotti
- Mrs Reynolds – Sophie Thompson
- Inspector Raglan – Paul Thornley
- Fullerton – Eric Sykes
- Joyce Reynolds – Many Nyman
- Leopold Reynolds – Richard Breislin
- George – David Yelland
- Mrs Llewellyn-Smyth – Phyllida Law
- Olga Seminoff – Vera Filatova
Hallowe’en Party will air on ITV1 on Sunday 24th October at 8pm in the UK.
2010 marks 120 years of Agatha Christie and was celebrated during “Christie Week” 12th – 19th September. A special “delicious death” chocolate cake was created in a nod to the 1950 Miss Marple book A Murder is Announced, and Google even changed its homepage. Two billion Agatha Christie books have sold around the world since she began writing in 1920, and the stories have been translated into 45 languages.