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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Calam Pengilly

Paisley goes back in time as historical drama films in the town

Filming is currently taking place in Paisley town centre for what is believed to be a big BBC adaptation of a classic Agatha Christie novel.

Production company Mammoth Screen are currently on site at Forbes Place filming a period-drama, which the Paisley Daily Express understands to be based on the iconic writer’s 1939 book Murder is Easy.

The cobbled street is lined with classic cars and actors in attire from another age, while film crews capture the action for what will be a two-part thriller to be screened on BBC One, iPlayer, and BritBox.

The adaptation is to be set in England in 1954.

A man named Luke Fitzwilliamon is on a train to London when he meets Miss Pinkerton, who tells him that a killer is on the loose in the sleepy English village of Wychwood under Ashe.

The villagers believe the deaths are mere accidents, but Miss Pinkerton knows otherwise - and when she's later found dead on her way to Scotland Yard, Luke feels he must find the killer before they can strike again.

The scene attracted a lot of attention from passers-by (Andrew Neil)

Speaking upon the announcement that Murder is Easy was to be adapted earlier this year, screenwriter Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre said: "I’ve watched every Agatha Christie adaptation out, because Christie wrote for the world and the whole world loves her back. But somehow I’d never read one of her novels. When I first read Murder is Easy, I couldn’t believe how daring, experimental and furious the book was. Nothing like I’d expected.

The action is set in England in 1954 (Andrew Neil)

"From the first read, the book was shouting at me how to enter and adapt it, and what’s so exciting is having everyone at Mammoth Screen and ACL jump right in there with me. It’s like going on an extended train journey with a genius sat next to you, whispering the secrets of storytelling into your ear.”

Actors on site (Andrew Neil)

Mammoth Screen are producing the thriller in collaboration with Agatha Christie Limited, which has managed the literary and media rights to Agatha Christie's works around the world since 1955.

James Prichard, executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited said: "This is one of my great grandmother’s best and most disconcerting titles. Of course, murder isn't easy. Or is it if you live in a traditional unsuspecting English village?"

Murder is Easy will be directed by Meenu Gaur and produced by Karen Kelly. Executive producers are Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre, James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited, Damien Timmer and James Gandhi for Mammoth Screen, Jenny Frayn for the BBC and Reemah Sakaan and Stephen Nye for BritBox International.

What's in the bag? (Andrew Neil)

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama says: “Agatha Christie on the BBC has become a classic combination, and in Murder is Easy we have one of the Queen of Crime’s finest page-turners in a new adaptation that both speaks to us today and honours her incredible talent for brilliantly entertaining, skilfully told mystery. BBC One and iPlayer viewers will be gripped.”

What a sight (Andrew Neil)

The release date and cast has not yet been confirmed.

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