'Travels with Agatha Christie & David Suchet' Arrives on International Women's Day

BritBox and Channel 4 initially announced they would team up to produce Travels with Agatha Christie with David Suchet in June 2024. The five-part docuseries features David Suchet, the man who became a household name playing the author’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, paying it back by uncovering parts of Agatha Christie’s life little known to the public. Suchet spent almost a quarter-century playing the Belgian sleuth known for his little grey cells and well-kept mustaches over thirteen seasons. Now the series, with a slightly altered name, Travels with Agatha Christie & David Suchet, has set a 2025 release date.

Suchet’s journey traces Christie’s travels before becoming famous, an around-the-world journey where she continent hopped across the British Empire during its height when the tiny island could boast the sun never set on its holdings. Speaking to Deadline about the project, Suchet admitted that he thought himself a Christie expert after studying her writings and bringing Poirot to life, but that this side of her was a revelation. “I’ve got to know my author as a more three-dimensional human being, and that’s an unexpected gift,” Suchet said.

“I was learning about the character of a young lady who loved surfing, who loved socializing, who actually when her early stories were published, would willingly give press interviews. She was vivacious. On board the ship, she openly writes in her diary that she was kept up into the early hours with one of the officers on board. The Agatha Christie that I was discovering during my journey was happy. She was a little bit flirty. I wish I’d met her.”

Here's the docuseries synopsis:

Before becoming the world’s best-selling author, Agatha Christie, aged 31, embarked on a world tour in 1922. Her ten-month itinerary of the then-British Empire took her across Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and she also visited Hawai’i.

Perceptions of Agatha Christie’s character tend to be dominated by the persona she adopted in public life when she was seen as a shy individual who disliked fame. But this was a defensive wall erected by Agatha. Now, 100 years on, this journey is an opportunity for Sir David and all fans of the author to discover a lesser-known Agatha – the woman she really was. Through recreating her surprising and fascinating journey, he’ll also have a unique chance to explore the history and complex legacy of the British Empire.

David Suchet is the presenter guiding viewers through his journey with directors Joe Sharp and Catherine Abbott splitting helming duties, with Abbott producing. The docuseries is executive produced by Alan Clements, Ian Lamarra, Stephen Nye, and Jennifer Moon.

All five episodes of Travels with Agatha Christie & David Suchet arrive on BritBox on International Women's Day, Saturday, March 8, 2025.