I put it to you, m'lud, this is best courtroom drama ever made

Sue Wilkinson on Witness for the Prosecution

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Some have tried and all have failed to recreate the magic of the 1957 film version of Agatha Christie's did-he-do-it? Witness for the Prosecution.

Writer of the 2016 TV version was Sarah Phelps who has a track record for adapting books by the 'Queen of Crime' for the small screen. Acting talent - including David Haig and Toby Jones - and glamour, Kim Cattrall and Billy Howle - were thrown at it.

It is a pale imitation of Billy Wilder's vibrant, vital movie with its mix of melodrama, film noir and courtroom drama.

His version received six Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe Award nominations including a win for Elsa Lanchester as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. There are many reasons the TV adaptation - and various stage versions - do not not match up. The mastery of director Billy Wilder being one of them.

Hard as it is to imagine for those who revere 'influencers' eating cockroaches in a jungle, the cast is towering and content scandalous.