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With its opulent setting, ornate library and a luxury train filled with deceitful individuals, The Traitors has become a smash hit.
However, it is those same distinctive features that have led Agatha Christie’s family to claim the BBC show is based on one of her famous novels.
The author’s great-grandson, TV and film producer James Prichard, believes the show – hosted by Claudia Winkleman and filmed at Ardross Castle in the Highlands – is based on And Then There Were None, the famous Christie novel published in 1939, in which a group of people are stranded on an island and murdered, one by one.
In an interview with The Radio Times, Mr Prichard, who manages Christie’s literary and media rights, said: ‘I think The Traitors is brilliant. It’s absolutely based on an Agatha Christie murder-mystery concept.
‘At the beginning of the series, they’re on the train.
‘They’ve got the board with all the faces being picked off, one by one.
‘They’ve got the library, it’s everything Agatha Christie. It’s And Then There Were None in lots of ways.’
He added: ‘There’s a recognition amongst a lot of the crime-writing fraternity that my great-grandmother is an inspiration. It’s great. I love that murder mystery is growing in popularity.’
Agatha Christie’s great grandson is convinced Traitors, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, is based on her 1939 book And Then There Were None
Agatha Christie’s work has been adapted countless times for television and cinema
Over the years Christie adaptations have starred the likes of David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, and Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
Since then, heavyweights Hugh Laurie and Kenneth Branagh have both made Christie adaptations: the former created Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? for BritBox, while the latter has made big-screen versions of Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and A Haunting in Venice.
The ABC Murders starred John Malkovich, while a new BBC three-parter, Towards Zero, stars Hollywood A-lister Anjelica Huston.
Mr Prichard said: ‘I think one of the most rewarding things is the fact that people are taking Agatha Christie more seriously.
‘One of the ways you can judge that is the kind of people who are involved in our projects, be it Ken Branagh, Hugh Laurie, Anjelica Huston or John Malkovich.
‘We’re in a different place than we have been at any time in my lifetime. That’s really special and means a lot to me.’
