Who is the serial killer X?Īrthritic and immobilized, Poirot calls on his old friend Captain Hastings to join him at Styles to be the eyes and ears that will feed observations to Poirot's still razor sharp mind. Now wheelchair bound, there is still one case for Poirot to solve. There is going to be another Poirot novel though, written by psychological-thriller writer Sophie Hannah, so who knows, we could still see Suchet back in the role.Poirot and Hastings come full circle at Styles. (An idea for the future, perhaps?)īut there is also the inevitable marching on of time – at 67, David Suchet may soon want to be handing in his Equity card. You’d be hard pressed to hear: ‘What a good night for a murder eh? Jolly good night for a murder,’ in a TV show these days, unless it was in an elaborate stage-play set up, with people re-enacting Poirot that actually turned into a murder in two, hour-long episodes on BBC1. Three-parters like The Escape Artist, or the fast paced brain-whirring of Sherlock have taken over where Poirot leaves off. With communal watching over social networks there’s no time for mulling things over and new-age technology means Poirot’s methods are left looking a little bit twee. Poirot is the kind of drama it is arguable audiences don’t have the attention span for anymore – our little grey cells are too busy. It’s a shame for audiences and a bigger shame for ITV. Poirot’s health is failing and it seems everyone’s given up their lives of crime. The books have all been adapted, there is nothing left to do. Sadly though, Suchet will no longer be the eponymous detective. It’s also become a stepping stone for television stars from Damian Lewis to Michael Fassbender and everyone else in-between the list of famous former Poirot guest stars is ridiculously long. Hercule’s habit of knowing when a murder’s going to go down, his ability to solve riddles with a twiddle of his moustache and an interesting relationship with closest friend Hastings (is he gay or isn’t he?) have been key features of the drama that has run for seventy episodes. Poirot has become a staple of our screens because of Suchet and because of Christie’s aptitude for crime writing.

Poirot final curtain