Authors: David Suchet,Geoffrey Wansell
Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Entertainment & Performing Arts
Poirot and Me
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
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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 Suchet’s 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
Chapter 1 I wouldn’t touch it with a barge
Chapter 2 We must never, ever, laugh at him
Chapter 3 I’m sorry, but I am not going to
Chapter 4 I’m afraid they’re going to be too
Chapter 5 It was like being hit over the head
Chapter 6 I wanted him to become even
Chapter 7 I felt that I had become the
custodian of Dame Agatha’s creation
Chapter 8 Television’s unlikeliest heartthrob .
Chapter 9 You have to make sure that
Chapter 10 I could be saying goodbye to
him, perhaps for a year, perhaps forever
Chapter 11 A very long way indeed from
Chapter 12 There hasn’t been any trouble,
Chapter 13 I had forgotten how hard he was
Chapter 14 One of the turning points . . . a
legacy to Dame Agatha
Chapter 15 Easily the worst book I ever
Chapter 16 Why-why-why did I ever invent
this detestable, bombastic, tiresome little
Chapter 17 You’re not going to wear those
horrible hairnet or moustache-net things, are
Chapter 18 It is never finished with a
Chapter 19 But most of all, to you all, au
Poirot: Character Notes’ Facsimile
About the Book
Hercule
Poirot,
with
his
distinctive
moustache and fastidious ways, is one of
Agatha Christie’s finest creations and one of
the world’s best-loved detectives.
Through his television performance in ITV’s
Agatha Christie’s 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.
I n 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 Mamet’s
Oleanna and the
composer Antonio Salieri
in Peter Shaffer’s
Amadeus in the theatre,
as well as for playing
two disgraced tycoons,
Augustus Melmotte in
Anthony Trollope’s 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 Agatha’s 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