Mystery and magic

Rufus Sewell stars in a deliciously dark Agatha Christie thriller with a supernatural twist

- CAREN CLARK

Agatha Christie’s whodunnits are often seen as old-fashioned and cosy, but the recent BBC1 adaptations by writer Sarah Phelps have exposed a more sinister vein of menace hidden in the author’s most famous works.

Following her previous TV adaptations, including The ABC Murders, Phelps now gives her distinctive take on Christie’s macabre novel The Pale Horse, starring Rufus Sewell.

‘I said yes instantly when I was offered the role,’ says Sewell. ‘I’ve always wanted to be in an Agatha Christie drama because I grew up watching them, and the script took me by surprise.

‘The fact there’s a certain edge to this made it even more fun. It’s subversive. Agatha Christie is warped in her own way and there’s something poisonous about this storyline that I loved.’

Set in the early 1960s, the unsettling two-part drama sees Sewell play troubled London antiques dealer Mark Easterbrook, who is married to second wife Hermia (Skins’ Kaya Scodelario). However, it’s clear that he is still struggling to get over the death of first wife Delphine (