David Farnor | On 19, Mar 2022

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? That was the question asked by Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel, and it’s being brought to the screen by BritBox UK this spring.

Directed by Hugh Laurie, the series – commissioned by BritBox North America and produced by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited – has a star-studded line-up, including Will Poulter (The Revenant, Detroit, Dopesick) as Bobby Jones, a young naval officer, and Lucy Boynton (Sing Street, Murder On The Orient Express, Bohemian Rhapsody) as Frankie Derwent, a prototype It Girl with a taste for adventure and good hats.

Based on her 1934 novel, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? opens with a fine Agatha Christie enigma: a man lies dying at the foot of a cliff, apparently the victim of an accidental fall; with his final breath, he utters the mysterious question of the title and promptly expires.

The new clip gives us a teasing look at the body being discovered, setting in motion events that will introduce us to Dr Nicholson (Hugh Laurie), the Clinical Director of the sanatorium near Merroway Court, Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones) as Bobby’s friend and mentor, Dr. Thomas, and Daniel Ings (I Hate Suzie) as Roger Bassington-ffrench, target of the amateur sleuths’ early suspicions. Maeve Dermody (The Secret Garden), plays Moira Nicholson, troubled wife of the domineering Dr. James Nicholson, and Jonathan Jules (Small Axe) appears as Ralph “Knocker” Beadon, one time shipmate of Bobby, and good man in a tight corner, with Miles Jupp (The Durrells) also appearing as Roger’s elder brother Henry Bassington-ffrench, squire of Merroway Court, the family seat in Hampshire.

The series premieres on BritBox UK on 14th April. Here’s the new clip – plus the trailer:

 

Hugh Laurie’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? set for BritBox spring debut

8th February 2022

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? That was the question asked by Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel, and it’s being brought to the screen by BritBox UK this spring.

Directed by Hugh Laurie, the series – commissioned by BritBox North America and produced by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited – has a star-studded line-up, including Will Poulter (The Revenant, Detroit, Dopesick) as Bobby Jones, a young naval officer, and Lucy Boynton (Sing Street, Murder On The Orient Express, Bohemian Rhapsody) as Frankie Derwent, a prototype It Girl with a taste for adventure and good hats.

Based on her 1934 novel, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? opens with a fine Agatha Christie enigma: a man lies dying at the foot of a cliff, apparently the victim of an accidental fall; with his final breath, he utters the mysterious question of the title and promptly expires. Some people – perhaps most people – might shrug at the impenetrable oddness of the words and move on with their lives. But Bobby Jones and his childhood friend, Lady Frances “Frankie” Derwent, are not most people. They resolve to honour the dead man by deciphering, and then answering, his final question. In so doing, they hit upon a dark conspiracy of deceit, betrayal and – perhaps unsurprisingly – murder.

In addition to directing, Hugh Laurie will also portray Dr Nicholson, the Clinical Director of the sanatorium near Merroway Court. Joining him are Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones) as Bobby’s friend and mentor, Dr. Thomas, and Daniel Ings (I Hate Suzie) as Roger Bassington-ffrench, target of the amateur sleuths’ early suspicions. Maeve Dermody (The Secret Garden), plays Moira Nicholson, troubled wife of the domineering Dr. James Nicholson, and Jonathan Jules (Small Axe) appears as Ralph “Knocker” Beadon, one time shipmate of Bobby, and good man in a tight corner.

Miles Jupp (The Durrells) joins as Roger’s elder brother Henry Bassington-ffrench, squire of Merroway Court, the family seat in Hampshire; Amy Nuttall (Downton Abbey) as Sylvia Bassington-ffrench, Henry’s American wife, socially adrift in the English countryside; and Alistair Petrie (Sex Education) as Bobby’s father, Rev. Richard Jones, hard-working vicar in Bobby’s home town of Marchbolt. Rounding out the cast are Paul Whitehouse (The Death of Stalin), as Mr. Askew, landlord and dispenser of wisdoms at a country tavern; Morwenna Banks (Breeders), as Mrs. Cayman, the deceased man’s sister; Ricard Dixon as the apparently jovial Mr. Cayman, and Joshua James (Black Mirror) as Frankie’s dependable young ally, Dr. George Arbuthnot.

Jim Broadbent and Emma Thompson also make cameo appearances in the first episode as Frankie’s parents, Lord and Lady Marcham.

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