After Murder is Easy, BBC casts Oscar winner in new Agatha Christie drama

Following its major adaptation of Murder is Easy, the BBC has revealed an all-star cast for its next big adaptation, Towards Zero.

The three-part series, which is likely to be part of the BBC's Christmas TV line-up, is based on the novel first published in 1944. Among the big names in the drama is Oscar winner Anjelica Huston.

The 72-year-old star says: "I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie and the murder-mystery genre and always love the opportunity to film in England. I am thrilled to be working with director Sam Yates and this wonderful cast, and excited to play the clever and dignified Camilla, Lady Tressilian."

Joining Huston are Jackie Clune (Motherland), Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife), Jack Farthing (Rain Dogs), Khalil Gharbia (Mary & George), Adam Hugill (Sherwood), Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Hill House), Mimi Keene (Sex Education), Clarke Peters (The Wire), Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans) and Oliver Award-winner Anjana Vasan (Black Mirror: Demon 79).

Teasing the plot, the BBC says: "England, 1936. After a scandalous celebrity divorce, British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and his ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) make the unthinkable decision to spend a summer together at Gull's Point, their childhood home and the coastal estate of Nevile's aunt, Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston).

"With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile’s new wife Kay (Mimi Keene), tensions are running high. Add to this a long-suffering lady's companion, a mysterious gentleman's valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man, and soon there will be murder. A troubled detective must rediscover his purpose to untangle a toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Can he solve the crime before another victim meets their death?

"An explosive love triangle, a formidable matriarch and a house party of enemies. All compelled… Towards Zero."

Sheena Bucktowonsing and Damien Timmer, executive producers for Mammoth Screen, say: "We are privileged to be working with Hollywood legend Anjelica Huston and a particularly stellar cast on one of Agatha Christie’s most intriguing novels — the sun drenched Towards Zero. It's a tale of tennis, an incendiary love triangle, the Devon coastline and murder!"

The BBC has a history of attracting top stars to its adaptations of Christie's stories, with John Malkovich playing Poirot in its version of The ABC Murders. Outside of the UK, Towards Zero will air on BritBox. It's filming now in and around Bristol and on the Devon coast.