Murder is Easy: Scottish setting for new Agatha Christie adaptation
- Published
David Jonsson plays Luke Fitzwilliam in Murder Is Easy, filmed in Scotland
A spate of killings in a sleepy English village might be a classic Agatha Christie plot - but the new adaptation of the queen of crime's work has a distinctly Scottish flavour.
Murder is Easy stars David Jonsson as a detective investigating deaths in the fictional Wychwood under Ashe.
In reality the location is the East Lothian village of Tyninghame.
Residents found the experience "great fun", with filming taking place in the village hall and a local café.
A number of other places throughout Scotland helped bring Christie's world to life for the new adaptation, which airs on BBC1 on Wednesday and Thursday.
The production was entirely filmed at a number of "fantastic" locations in Scotland, including Sorn Castle in East Ayrshire, the village of Garvald and throughout parts of Stirlingshire and Paisley.
Producer Karen Kelly was drawn to Tyninghame after seeing an old black and white photo of the village.
She explained: "That photograph, and how it looked today, were almost exactly the same. Almost nothing had changed. That was a key draw for our world."
Shireen Green, a member of the village hall's committee, was delighted at the production arriving.
She told BBC Scotland's Drivetime: "The buildings are all attractive and there is not much sign of 21st Century development. It's a conservation area so the charming character of the village has been maintained.
"It's not a typical Scottish village, so it's not surprising it was chosen as it does look like a chocolate box English village. We were able to go and watch the filming. It was just great fun."
Penelope Wilton plays Miss Pinkerton, alongside David Jonsson as Fitzwilliam
Some of the Scottish locations impressed the cast, too.
Actor Mark Bonnar who stars as Reverend Humbleby in the series, told the Radio Times:, external "One key location was Sorn Castle, which is a 19th Century castle. It is an amazing place... I loved wandering into rooms we were not supposed to wander into."
Murder Is Easy is focused around Luke Fitzwilliam (played by David Jonsson), a retired detective who has a chance encounter on a train with Miss Pinkerton (Penelope Wilton), who tells him of a number of deaths in her village.
When she too is found dead, Fitzwilliam decides to investigate.
Douglas Henshall stars as Major Horton in the new adaptation
In the new version Fitzwilliam has just arrived in the UK from his native Nigeria, one of several changes the producers made to help modernise the story, which also stars a number of Scots including Douglas Henshall - who is known for playing DI Perez in the Shetland series - and River City actress Kathryn Howden.
Although the book was written in 1939, the producer believes that the core of Christie's work remains relevant to audiences today, as there are "themes of class and status" in the book.
She said: "Agatha Christie creates archetypes and then knocks them down. Of course, it's a whodunit and the appetite for crime is never-ending with our audiences. It's also a period drama that takes us back to a magical time, and it allows us to get a bit of respite from reality."