Miss Marple looks set to return to screens, according to the great-grandson of author Agatha Christie.
The iconic detective is one of the crime writer's most famous characters, and has been portrayed over the years by several actors, including Joan Hickson in the 1980s BBC TV series, and later Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie on ITV.
Ahead of new BBC Christie adaptation Towards Zero, James Pritchard has now revealed that a new version of the character is in the pipeline.
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"I couldn't be more excited," he told the Radio Times. "I've been trying to get something for Miss Marple off the ground for a very long time. For good reasons, Poirot has stolen her limelight since time began.
"I re-read all the Marple stories five years ago and I'd forgotten how good they were," he added, saying the character was "underestimated".
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Pritchard went on to praise Christie for writing "a lot of strong women" during her career, adding that his great-grandmother "was an extremely interesting woman, because part of her was very shy and retiring", but she was "also a forceful person".
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"She would claim not to have been a feminist, but she absolutely thought she was as powerful as any man who she came across," he said. "And that’s the kind of woman she wrote about."
Speaking about Towards Zero, which follows a murder on an estate, Pritchard described the adaptation as "a little lighter" and that he "can certainly see us doing more [in that style]" going forward.
The new BBC series is due to debut next month, and will star Oliver Jackson Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland, Mimi Keene and Anjelica Huston.
Towards Zero premieres on BBC iPlayer on Sunday, March 2 from 6am, and airs on BBC One at 9pm.
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
