‘Tommy & Tuppence’ Stars Explain Romantic Twist on Agatha Christie’s Classic Detectives
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What To Know
- BritBox’s upcoming series Tommy & Tuppence reimagines Agatha Christie’s beloved detective duo in a contemporary setting.
- The show departs from traditional retellings by blending elements from Christie’s books into a modern story.
- This adaptation introduces a romantic twist.
Two of Agatha Christie‘s most iconic characters are about to get a modern makeover. Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence reimagines the legendary author’s adventurous amateur sleuths for a contemporary audience for the first time, as the crime-solving duo prepares to make its debut on BritBox on September 15.
One of the challenges of stepping into Agatha Christie’s world is that some characters arrive with decades of cultural recognition attached to them. But for Tommy and Tuppence stars Josh Dylan and Antonia Thomas, the appeal wasn’t necessarily tied to the pair’s literary legacy. When speaking to TV Insider at the ATX TV Festival, Thomas even admitted that, before landing the role, she was far more familiar with Christie’s other famous creations.
“In all honesty, no. I feel like some of Agatha Christie’s other stories were more prominent in my mind. Poirot, Miss Marple…. but like, it’s been really exciting getting to know them through this,” admitted Thomas. “There is a lot of excitement around these characters. They are special in her universe.”
“I heard, and this might be wrong, a rumor that Tommy and Tuppence were Agatha Christie’s favorite characters,” said Dylan. “I also might be creating that rumor. It’s a mystery.”
Of course, bringing Tommy and Tuppence into the 21st century meant more than simply casting new actors. Rather than delivering a traditional retelling of Christie’s stories, the series reimagines the characters for a modern world for the first time.
“It’s a completely modern story,” explained Thomas. “I think Phoebe [Eclair-Powell], the writer, took inspiration from the period characters. She’s sort of taken bits and pieces from all of the books to create a very modern story. It’s not a completely traditional retelling.”
“The foundation, its roots are in the world of books,” said Dylan. “I think, particularly with Tommy and Tuppence, they are not professionals solving crimes. Our characters sort of stumble into it. We are in a world where there are phones; solving crimes is different.”
“It is fun to explore,” continued Dylan. “You would have thought on the surface that would reduce the fun because everyone is sort of connected, and you think it is easier, but the writers found amazing ways to keep that quintessential mystery.”
Of course, bringing Tommy and Tuppence into the 21st century meant more than simply casting new actors. Rather than delivering a traditional retelling of Christie’s stories, the series reimagines the characters for a modern world. In the original story, The Secret Adversary, the duo meet when demobilised soldier Tommy Beresford reunites with his childhood friend Tuppence Cowley. Unable to find work, they form a business called Young Adventurers Ltd. But in this modern retelling, the story is a bit different and offers a new twist on their relationship.
“Where our series, and our story, starts is that they had been in a relationship 10 years ago, but hadn’t been in contact since then. At the very beginning of the series, they bump into each other,” explained Thomas. “There is a lot of history there. There is a lot of water that is sort of not really under the bridge, in a way.”
“It was a bad breakup, and they are essentially maybe the ones that got away from each other,” Thomas continued.
And to add to the twist, Thomas reveals that this Tuppence has another complication: “She’s married in our version to somebody else. But she’s at a real crossroads.”
But even though the couple has been sleuthing for well over 100 years, there is a contemporary edge to their relationship, with a chemistry that modern audiences will enjoy. They balance each other out.
“Tommy makes Tuppence pause and really think about her actions and the choices she makes in her life. She can’t be completely impulsive about everything,” said Thomas.
“And Tommy is the opposite. Tommy is meticulous and overthinks everything. There is a process and procedure to things,” said Dylan. “But in a way, they sort of really combine. They are good at it in the end.”
Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence, Series Premiere, September 15, BritBox
Conversation9 Comments
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B
And I'm out. Tommy and Tuppence are my favorite detectives in the Christie canon (yes, even more so than Poirot or Miss Marple). They do not get nearly enough love. Change up the story, fine. Modernize it, great. Change their ethnicities, no problem. But marry Tuppence to someone else?! ABSOLUTELY NOT. The entire point of their partnership (even as they are figuring it out for themselves in the first book) is that they do not function effectively and will not be happy unless they are a team. The Christie estate has got to stop tarnishing Dame Agatha's legacy in this way.
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L
What is wrong with you people! Stop messing with other people's intellectual properties in the name of modernity it's inane and insane I've always thought so, even with series I admire like Elementary. Bringing Sherlock Holmes up date is an example of why. And that is when you do that you change who they are essentially from their original authors vision. Give us a modern consultant detective and make it Sherlock Holmes' great, great grandson. Give us a contemporary husband and wife detective duo a brand new diverse couple who follow in Tommy and Tuppence's shoes and the similarities end there. Just stop gaslighting us fans of the original material. We know that that the powers that be are too lazy and filled with hubris to faithfully produce a live action adaptation.
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J
Dont mess with Agatha Christie.
Her books have delighted millions and should not be modernised
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C
We don't love Tommy and Tuppence because they're complicated people with complicated feelings.
We love them because they love adventure and are always a little bit in over their heads.
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N
The whole point were they aristocrats doing ordinary things that’s what made it so clever. Please don’t dumb it down for a younger audience.
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S
I highly doubt Christie imagined Tuppence as a black woman. Please Hollywood, stop with all the inter-racial couples! Yes they exist, but you'd think they'd make up 80% of couples in real life the way movies and TV have them in almost everything. It's perfectly OK to show two white people together, as Christie originally wrote them.
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T
Another way to look at it is that times have changed. This is 2026. I dont think Dame Agatha Christie herself would imagine she has an imaginary grandson in me. I am a devotee and have all of her books. She practically raised me as a teenager who escaped difficult childhood into her world of sleuths well into adulthood. I am in the final stages of pre marketing for my mystery novel 'Bits of Other People' exceptionally told in Christie formula and era from an african lens. In my soon to be launched website, I let readers know I consider myself her living black grandson.
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D
Well, considering Christie’s turn of the century British racism I doubt she imaginged black woken capable of much. Let’s hope that if she were born in modern times she wouldn’t be nearly as offended by this concept as you.
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L
I might watch it or I might not. I wouldn't count it as Christie though.
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