Edward Bluemel Cast as Young Hercule Poirot

Thirteen years after David Suchet's Hercule Poirot solved his last case on , Agatha Christie's most famous creation has been revived.

The new Poirot is to be British actor Edward Bluemel, who played bachelor Jimmy Thesiger in the Seven Dials Agatha Christie adaptation.

Bluemel, who is 33, will be portraying the iconic detective at the start of his career in the new series, called Hercule. He is the youngest actor to ever play the role.

The drama will show Poirot starting his career as a consulting detective in London, becoming friends with Captain Hastings, encountering Inspector Japp and cracking his first cases.

The six-part series will be adapted from three existing Christie stories. Sources confirm that Bluemel will be wearing a magnificent moustache in the show.

The producers promise 'an intimate study of Hercule the man and an epic portrait of Britain between the wars.' 

The series will be shot this summer, largely in Liverpool, which will stand in for London.

It's a career defining break for Bluemel, who has previously appeared in Killing Eve, My Lady Jane and We Might Regret This. 

The son of two science teachers, he was born in Tunbridge Wells and is a RADA graduate. 

On his casting, Bluemel said: 'I feel very lucky to have been trusted with such an iconic character who has been played by so many great actors. I can't wait to continue Hercule's legacy.'

Agatha Christie's great-grandson James Prichard said: 'My father had the privilege of working with David Suchet for nearly 25 years, and I now have the good fortune of being able to share my great grandmother's brilliant stories with a new generation of viewers.

'Edward Bluemel is an extremely talented performer and will make a great addition to the long line of actors that have played this celebrated character, aided and abetted by Benji Walters' thoughtful scripts. I cannot wait to see Edward on screen as Hercule Poirot.'

David Suchet portrayed Poirot for ITV in the much-loved series which ran from 1989 to 2013. There were 70 episodes in all.

Since then, the Christie estate has allowed the adaptation of three Poirot mysteries on the big screen, with Kenneth Branagh as the detective. 

Murder On The Orient Express was a success in 2017 but Death On The Nile was ill-fated by the pandemic and the disgrace of leading man Armie Hammer. In 2023 there was a third Branagh Poirot film, A Haunting In Venice.

John Malkovich played Poirot in a three-part BBC and Amazon Prime adaptation of The ABC Murders in 2018, which attracted mixed reviews.

BBC drama boss Lindsay Salt said: 'Hercule Poirot is one of the greatest and most loved characters of all time, and bringing him back to the BBC is a real privilege. 

'From the first moments of Edward's audition we knew we'd found the perfect actor for Hercule, with a performance that feels both fresh and exciting, yet quintessentially Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. We can't wait for viewers to meet him.'

The show will be made for the BBC and Britbox by Mammoth Screen. Rebecca Durbin and Damien Timmer, executive producers, said: 'Edward Bluemel and Benji Walters are both extraordinary talents and it is a joy to see them take on this beloved character and make him their own. 

'Hercule is both a love letter to Agatha Christie and a fascinating new perspective on an iconic figure - we hope viewers will find it as arresting as we do.'

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