Poirot

It opens with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, set in 1917. Poirot is a Belgian refugee in the village of Styles, and Hastings, wounded in the war, is staying at Emily Inglethorp's manor. When she's poisoned, her much younger husband Alfred is the obvious suspect. Poirot keeps him from being arrested too early and proves Alfred and Evelyn Howard planned it together, counting on an acquittal so he could never be tried again. Then the show returns to the 1930s with ten short stories: a strange garden, a bond theft, a killing on the Plymouth train, a stolen royal ruby and a Spanish chest with a body inside.

1. ReferenceBack to 1917

   The Mysterious Affair at Styles is set in 1917, one of the few exceptions in a show that lives between 1935 and 1939. It's Christie's first novel, from 1920.

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2. Behind the scenesThe duo behind the first eight

   Clive Exton adapted the pilot with producer Brian Eastman. The two wrote and produced the first eight series.

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3. Behind the scenesSuchet nearly quit

   Back in the first series, Suchet nearly walked away over an argument about Poirot putting a handkerchief on a park bench. He said he had to become the character before shooting.

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