Agatha Christie

Geraldine McEwan, the British actress best known for her role as Miss Marple in the ITV adaptations of Agatha Christie's detective novels, has died at the age of 82. Her family released a statement on Saturday (31st January) confirming McEwan had passed away on Friday 30th January following a stroke in October 2014. 

"Following a stroke at the end of October and a period in hospital, Geraldine McEwan passed away peacefully on January 30. Her family would like to thank the staff at Charing Cross Hospital who cared for her incredibly well," McEwan's two children, Greg and Claudia, said in a statement to the BBC.

McEwan was born in Old Windsor, Berkshire in 1932. At the age of 19, she married Hugh Cruttwell, a former principal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. The couple had two children: a son, actor Greg Cruttwell, and a daughter, Claudia. Cruttwell died in 2002 and McEwan did not re-marry after his death. 

Continue reading: 'Miss Marple' Actress Geraldine McEwan Dies Aged 82

Agatha Christie left us with some truly memorable characters in her time as a best-selling author, and no better example can be found than the Belgian super sleuth Hercule Poirot. Having been put to rest along with Christie and her other literary creations following her death in 1976, now, with the permission of the crime author's family, the detective is being brought out of retirement and brought back into the literary world.

Sophie Hannah, an experienced crime novelist and poet, has been put to work to write the first official Agatha Christie story since her death some decades ago. Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard, was particularly keen to bring the Belgian detective back to life and gave full consent to Hannah to return Poirot - who is portrayed on screen by David Suchet - to his former glories. The reboot comes almost a century after the character was first introduced in 1920's The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

David Suchet plays Poirot on television

Continue reading: New Author To Bring Agatha Christie's Poirot Out Of Retirement