Take a hefty dose of intrigue, a dash of celebrity, an ill-fated love triangle and throw in some quintessential English 1930s stiff upper lip, and what do you have? A sizzling new Agatha Christie murder mystery series, that’s what.

You’ll no doubt be as excited as we were to learn that the BBC is working on a new three-part dramatisation of the classic Christie novel Towards Zero, in association with BritBox International. 

With romance, scandal, murder and a love triangle, Towards Zero has all the hallmarks of being an absolute belter of a series. Adapted for the screen by Bafta-nominated Rachel Bennette and directed by the Olivier award-winning director Sam Yates (Magpie), it promises to be as big a success as 2023’s Murder Is Easy.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming series.

Towards Zero, like many of Christie’s stories, is set in rural England in the mid-1930s. According to the official synopsis: “After a scandalous celebrity divorce, British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and his ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) make the unthinkable decision to spend a summer together at Gull’s Point, their childhood home and the coastal estate of Nevile’s aunt, Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston).

“With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile’s new wife, Kay (Mimi Keene), tensions are running high. Add to this a long-suffering lady’s companion, a mysterious gentleman’s valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French conman, and soon there will be murder. A troubled detective must rediscover his purpose to untangle a toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Can he solve the crime before another victim meets their death?”

Sounds intriguing, right?

The three-part thriller is being produced by Mammoth Screen, the team behind Murder Is Easy and The Serpent, and will star a whole host of stellar actors. Anjelica Huston is joined by Mimi Keene (Sex Education), Matthew Rhys, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland, Anjana Vasan, Jackie Clune, and many more.

Hollywood star Anjelica Huston is thrilled to be working on the adaptation, saying: “I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie and the murder-mystery genre and always love the opportunity to film in England. I am thrilled to be working with director Sam Yates and this wonderful cast, and excited to play the clever and dignified Camilla, Lady Tressilian.”

“This is a very special production,” adds James Prichard, executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited. “Rachel [Bennette] has done an extraordinary job on making my great-grandmother’s story even more dramatic, intense and troubling. Add in a cast of this calibre and viewers are in for a real treat.”

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, says: “For a writer whose work remains globally famous yet quintessentially British, it feels incredibly fitting that Towards Zero has attracted such a dazzling array of UK talent on both sides of the camera, alongside some exciting international names and Hollywood royalty. It’s an honour to partner with Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen to bring this tense, surprising and magnetic new adaptation to BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”

The production will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025, but the production currently has no release date. Watch this space for updates.

Images: BBC