First Look At BBC’s Star-Studded Agatha Christie Adaptation, Towards Zero

The BBC has revealed its first stunning images of its upcoming star-studded three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie classic, Towards Zero. Filmed in Bristol and Devon and slated to hit our screens next year, here’s everything we know so far.

Matthew Rhys as Inspector Leach in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

BBC’s Towards Zero: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Who doesn’t love a whodunnit? And who does it better than Agatha Christie? Lucky for us, the BBC has revealed the first images for its three-part adaptation of Christie’s Towards Zero, a deliciously scandalous love triangle juxtaposed by a double murder. Adapted by BAFTA-nominated writer Rachel Bennette and directed by the Olivier Award-winning Sam Yates (Magpie), there’s a glittering cast list to boot, with Anjelica Huston leading the cast, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland and Mimi Keene starring as the aforementioned love triangle.

‘I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie and the murder-mystery genre and always love the opportunity to film in England,’ says Anjelica Huston. ‘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.’

‘This is a very special production,’ adds James Prichard, executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited. ‘Rachel has done an extraordinary job on making my great-grandmother’s story even more dramatic, intense and troubling. Add in a cast of this calibre and viewers are in for a real treat.’

Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Mimi Keene as Nevile Strange and Kay Elliott in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

What Is Towards Zero About?

Set in 1936 England on the sun-soaked Devon coast, Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is a scandalised tennis star still experiencing the aftershocks of his high profile divorce from ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland). Every summer, Nevile visits his aunt, Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston), at her seaside home in Gull’s Point – where Nevile also grew up as the ward of Lady Tressilian’s now deceased husband. This summer, he and his new wife Kay (Mimi Keene) venture to the coast – but, with unfinished business to settle, Nevile also controversially invites Audrey, too.

Naturally, tensions are running high. Nevile and Audrey are childhood sweethearts and grew up at Gull’s Point. Add to this a motley crew of other guests – 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, in true Christie style, there will be a murder.

Enter Superintendent Battle, a troubled detective who must rediscover his purpose and untangle this toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction to solve the crime before another victim meets their death…

Anjelica Huston as Lady Tressilian in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

The Cast

There are plenty of familiar faces in this line up. The cast list for Towards Zero includes:

• Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Nevile Strange
• Ella Lily Hyland as Audrey Strange
• Anjelica Huston as Lady Tressilian
• Mimi Keene as Kay Elliott
• Jackie Clune
• Grace Doherty
• Jack Farthing as Thomas Royde
• Khalil Gharbia
• Adam Hugill
• Clarke Peters as Mr Treves
• Matthew Rhys as Inspector Leach
• Anjana Vasan as Mary Aldin

‘These are among the richest and most complex of Christie’s characters, and I was captivated from the first by the charisma, in particular, of her female characters,’ writer Rachel Bennette shares. ‘It has been thrilling to bring them all to life in this disturbing tale of truth and lies, love and hate, a story which unfolds amidst the dark, cinematic glamour of the 1930s, yet feels startlingly of our time.’

Jack Farthing as Thomas Royde in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

Where Was It Filmed?

Towards Zero was filmed in and around Bristol and on the Devon coast earlier this year.

Release Date

No specific date just yet, but the BBC has teased Towards Zero will air ‘next year’.

Anjana Vasan as Mary Aldin in Towards Zero, coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One in 2025

WATCH IT

Towards Zero will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK. It will air on BritBox International’s streaming service in the US and Canada.

Previous Agatha Christie adaptations made by Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen for the BBC are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.