Agatha Christie’s novels are some of the most popular mystery stories around- but the real-life mystery that happened to her is even more intriguing. Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley (who a few years ago appeared in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express) is starring in a new TV series that explores the famous disappearance of the detective author in 1926 and is based on a novel released earlier this year.

Ridley, who is also executive producing the new show, stars as Nan O’Dea, who is based on Nancy Neele, the real-life mistress of Archibald Christie (Agatha’s husband), and is the main character of the show. Nan finds her world colliding with the world-famous author’s, and things get tense when Agatha discovers the affair. However, she suddenly goes missing, sparking a manhunt encompassing multiple countries. Christie’s disappearance lasted for 11 days, when she was found alive in Yorkshire, and she never commented on why she vanished and what exactly happened to her. The series is an adaptation of this year’s Nina De Gramont novel The Christie Affair, which is a reimagining of the real case, filling in the gaps to create a suitably Agatha Christie-esque mystery.

The Christie Affair is being developed by Miramax TV, and is on track to release sometime next year- though it’s unknown which streaming service or TV channel it’ll be available on. The adaptation is being penned by screenwriter Juliette Towhidi, who wrote Calendar Girls and this year’s Apple TV+ series The Essex Serpent. This is Ridley’s first leading TV role, having previously appeared in Mr Selfridge and Casualty, and one of her biggest projects post-Star Wars. The head of Miramax said of the casting “We couldn’t be more grateful to be joined by Daisy on this incredible project – as both the star as well as our producing partner. Daisy is one of the most captivating and talented actors working today, and we’re excited for her to bring Nina de Gramont’s fascinating ‘Nan O’Dea’ to life.” In the meantime, you can check out the original novel version here:

By Nina de Gramont





The Christie Affair is set to debut next year
For more book-to-screen adaptations check out our round-up of the biggest ones here
 










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