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Copyright 2013 David Suchet and Geoffrey Wansell The right of David Suchet and Geoffrey Wansell to be identified as the Authors of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
First published as an Ebook in the UK by Headline Publishing Group in 2013
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
Epub conversion by Avon DataSet Ltd, Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
eISBN: 978 0 7553 6420 6
Plate sections designed by Fiona Andreanelli All photographs ITV plc, except where marked
The Mysterious Affair at Styles reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1920 Agatha Christie. The Kidnapped Prime Minister reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1924 Agatha Christie. The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1924 Agatha Christie. Five Little Pigs reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1942 Agatha Christie. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1960 Agatha Christie. Halloween Party reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1969 Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie: An Autobiography reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1977 Agatha Christie. Thirteen at Dinner reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1933 Agatha Christie.
Every effort has been made to fulfil requirements with regard to reproducing copyright material. The authors and publishers will be glad to rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.
All jacket photographs James Eckersley AGATHA CHRISTIE and POIROT mark are registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited which owns all rights relating to the Poirot character including in his name and image. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER
This is David Suchets personal account of his life playing Poirot and has been written by him independently (but with necessary permission) from ITV and the Agatha Christie estate.
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Contents
About the Book
Hercule Poirot, with his distinctive moustache and fastidious ways, is one of Agatha Christies finest creations and one of the worlds best-loved detectives.
Through his television performance in ITVs Agatha Christies Poirot , David Suchet has become inextricably linked with the little Belgian, a man whom he has grown to love dearly through an intimate relationship lasting more than twenty years.
In Poirot and Me , he shares his many memories of creating this iconic television series and reflects on what the detective has meant to him over the years.
About the Authors DAVID SUCHET is an award-winning English actor, best known around the world for his portrayal of Hercule Poirot. In a career that has spanned more than four decades David has appeared in many theatrical productions. He is also an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has won awards for his portrayals of the university teacher John in David Mamets Oleanna and the composer Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffers Amadeus in the theatre, as well as for playing two disgraced tycoons, Augustus Melmotte in Anthony Trollopes The Way We Live Now and Robert Maxwell, on television. A keen photographer, he is married with two adult children and lives in London. David was awarded the CBE in 2011 for services to drama. This is his first book.
GEOFFREY WANSELL is the author of more than a dozen books, including biographies of the movie star Cary Grant, the billionaire Sir James Goldsmith and the playwright Sir Terence Rattigan. He was also the authorised biographer of the Gloucester serial killer Frederick West, appointed to the role by the Official Solicitor to the Supreme Court, and is now the official historian of the Garrick Club in London. As a journalist, he has worked for The Times , the Observer , the Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail , among many other newspapers and magazines in Britain and around the world. He first met David Suchet when he appeared in the film When the Whales Came for Twentieth Century Fox, when Geoffrey was the executive producer, and the two have remained close friends.
For my wife Sheila
Acknowledgements
Playing Hercule Poirot for a quarter of a century would not have been possible for me without the help of many, many people, all of whom I owe my most grateful thanks. The television executives, directors, producers, writers, production teams all helped to make it an unforgettable experience. To all the teams over all the shows, to the costume designers, costumiers, tailors, dressers, personal make-up artists, set designers and the art directors, who made the production values of Poirot so special, let me say at once, I could not have done it without you, thank you all so much.
I must also thank all the extraordinary and talented actors and actresses who have appeared alongside me and supported me throughout the years, especially Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran the central members of the Poirot family at the very beginning and for so many episodes thereafter. I cannot thank them enough.
But there are another special group whom I really must thank individually for their contribution to making the programmes with me. The first among those are the late Rosalind Hicks, Dame Agathas daughter, and her husband, the late Anthony Hicks, who believed that I was capable of bringing Poirot to life for an audience around the world, a view that was reinforced by their son Mathew Prichard. I could not have created and sustained Poirot without their help.
Then there is Brian Eastman, who first approached me about playing the role in 1988 and produced the series through its formative years with the greatest skill and determination. I owe a similar debt to Michelle Buck, Damien Timmer and Karen Thrussell, the executive producers who took over the series and saw it to its conclusion in 2013. Poirot would not have become the worldwide phenomenon that it has without them.
My final word of thanks to the television executives, however, must go the Peter Fincham, the director of programmes at ITV, who promised me that all the Poirot stories would indeed be filmed, and he was true to his word. I cannot thank him enough.
As for this book, there are a host of people who have contributed to it, not least my dear friend Geoffrey Wansell who help me to write it. Also Michael Alcock at the literary agency Johnson and Alcock, who believed in it and introduced me to the team at Headline, led by editor Emma Tait. There was also Siobhan Hooper, who designed the jacket, James Eckersley, who took the cover photographs, Holly Harris, Laura Esslemont in production, Juliana Foster, the indefatigable copy editor, and Fiona Andreanelli who designed the picture sections. Last, but by no means least, I also have to thank Samantha Eades for her publicity guidance and Jo Liddiard for her marketing skill.
No one of them should be held accountable for my opinions, however, those are mine alone, but, most of all, I am grateful to the thousands of fans from around the world who have written to me over the years telling me how much Poirot has come to mean to them. Each and every one of their letters has warmed my heart, and I hope this book explains how much he meant to me as well.
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