Hercule Poirot's Christmas

BBC Radio 4 Poirot

by Michael Bakewell (Adapter), Agatha Christie, Peter Sallis (Narrator)

Tyrannical millionaire Simeon Lee has been estranged from most of his family for years. But now, on Christmas Eve, the old man calls them all together once more. Unable to disobey, the children gather uneasily and wonder what their father's intentions are. Does he want to clear up past misunderstandings or cause fresh mischief? Before they can find out, a deafening crash is heard overhead. Rushing upstairs, they discover a shocking sight: Simeon Lee is lying in a pool of blood, his throat cut. But it is the strangest thing - the door has been locked from the inside and there is no trace of the murderer. With so many possible suspects, it is lucky for Superintendent Sugden that the Chief Constable has his old friend Hercule Poirot staying with him. It seems to be an impossible case. But, as Poirot knows only too well, things aren't always as they seem.

Dramatised for BBC Radio 4 by Michael Bakewell and featuring Peter Sallis as Hercule Poirot with Edward de Souza, Cyril Luckham, Rachel Gurney, Nicky Henson and Derrick Guyler.

This adaptation was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 24 December 1986.

2 CDs. 1 hr 20 mins.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Christmas, Fiction, Agatha Christie, Short Stories, Holiday

2 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.

His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.

He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hercule Poirot's Christmas: A BBC Radio 4 full-Cast Dramatisation (Audio CD) by Agatha Christie.

This was a true old fashioned mystery with all the trimmings. A family reunion complete with a blood curdling scream, a murder, and suspects beyond measure. A pleasure for all lovers of a Christie mystery.

[Lidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was so fun and fresh!!! I love family drama

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the full cast audio! Short fun one

[Aine Lucido · Rating 3 out of 5]

Radio version of the story. Lots of little bits cut out but interesting to hear this version!

[Connie Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simeon Lee has invited all his children home for Christmas, but before they can find out his motives, he is found murdered, in a locked room with his throat slashed. Enter Hercule Poirot who was visiting nearby and who knows all is not what it seems.

[C.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah Christmas, time of fun, family and forgivness, but not for the Lee's. Old Simeon Lee is old and frail but still a bully and a monster and has gathered his family together for the holiday, mostly so he can set them loose on each other and enjoy the carnage. Naturally, he gets murdered and Poriot, who is in the area visiting the police commissioner for the holiday, gets roped into the case. I must say that I enjoyed this one quiet a bit. Christie takes the usual stress that the holidays bring on and amps them up and the murderer turns out to be quite a suprise.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A British Christmas, an estranged family, a murder. Poirot does it again!

This was such a happy find at our library! This particular edition is the BBC dramatized recording. About an hour long, perfect for Christmas road trips.

[H. J. Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It is the quietest and meekest people who are often capable of the most sudden and unexpected violence for the reason that when their control does snap, it goes entirely."

3.5 stars

About: A rich old gentleman demands all his family stay with him for Christmas, seemingly for the enjoyment of teasing and antagonising them. Then, after threatening to change his will, he's discovered dead in a locked room. Blood everywhere. A crime of hate or greed or something deeper, Poirot is soon on the case.

Thoughts
The full cast version feels a bit chaotic at first as there's a lot of characters to get to grips with, and they all hate the victim or at least it's made clear that there's no love lost at his death. I liked the dramatics of the murder, guessed a couple of the twists but not the overall one, and enjoyed how quickly everything escalated. It has a similarity to one of Christie's most famous mysteries - which I won't name for spoiler reasons and there isn't a lot of newness to the story. However, it does have a tense, bitter atmosphere that suits the Christmas backdrop and comes with a long list of suspects. For being such a quick listen (1hr 20mins) I enjoyed this and would recommend.

[Genna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐

I enjoyed this dramatization with a full cast. It was kind of difficult to tell apart some of the character voices since there were quite a few to keep track of but I still enjoyed it and it made it easy when the recap of solving the mystery came around in the end. A nice little tie up of all the clues so you can guess along with it or wait for the reveal with its twists and turns that you may or may not have seen coming.

I highly recommend if you were a big fan of the movie Knives Out. It is very close in plot and style. A murder has occurred involving one's will, one on one detective interviews, and twists and turns to the final solution.

[Jamie Hood · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun! I like listening to the dramatizations after reading an Agatha Christie - helps me picture the story better. It doesn’t have everything in the book, but it helped me notice things I missed the first time I read it. Especially knowing who the murderer is - fun to recognize the “clues.”

4.5 stars rounded down

Christmas/winter read #9 for December

[Annie Jarman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven’t read the book, but I imagine I would prefer it. It was hard to know who was speaking based off voice alone and all the important clues were announced at the end minutes before the pronunciation of the murderer.

[Jina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful to listen to! Great family drama! I sure was surprised at the reveal!! WOW!!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so dramatic, absolutely hilarious. Love Agatha Christe. The story was riddled with clues, and I love the play on words. She will always be the queen of the murder mystery.

[Courtney Bagby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full cast was very fun to listen to! I especially liked it because there was a moment I suspected and it was !!!!

[Maisey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short little mystery made more interesting by its BBC radio adaptation

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this. Fun quick listen.

[Sienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next time I want to read the actually book, radio plays go kinda fast for me. But it was good!

[Reading Fanatic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another lovely Agatha Christie story about the fabulous Hercule Poirot. I confess that the suspects in these stories are often most unlikeable, and I always enjoy watching Poirot bring them down a peg or two even when they aren't the guilty culprit. 😳😂😂

In this story, the patriarch of a most unpleasant group of people is murdered during a family Christmas get-together. As usual, Hercule Poirot and his "little gray cells" manage to unravel the mystery in a very timely, satisfying manner. Happy reading!

[Agnesxnitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring Peter Sallis as the Great Belgian Detective.
Tyrannical millionaire Simeon Lee has been estranged from most of his family for years. But now, on Christmas Eve, the old man calls them together once more. Unable to disobey, the children gather uneasily and wonder what their father's intentions are. Does he want to clear up past misunderstandings or cause fresh mischief?
Before they can find out, a deafening is heard overhead. Rushing upstairs, they discover a shocking sight; Simeon Lee is lying in a pool of blood, his throat cut. But the strangest thing - the door has been locked from the inside and there is no trace of the murderer.
With so many possible suspects, it is lucky for Superintendent Sugden that the Chief Constable has his old friend, Hercule Poirot staying with him. It seems to be an impossible case - but, as Poirot knows only too well, things aren't always as they seem.
The full cast dramatisation starts Peter Sallis as Hercule Poirot, with Edward de Souza as Superintendent Sugden and Nicky Henson as Harry Lee.'
Another impossible murder discovered in the middle of another disfunctional family - and at Christmas with all its emotional strains and stresses already in place! A thrifted copy from a local Sue Ryder charity shop. Listened to as part of my self induced/indulgent Christmas themed reading :)

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery. Agatha never disappoints. Good "christmas" read

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very improbable mystery solution, but still an enjoyable audio production.

Edit 12/24/2019: Ahaha, I listened to this again today, not realizing I'd already heard it once. I figured it out about two thirds of the way through, but I only remembered the (outlandish) how, not the who, so I listened to the rest. That is a silly - and only tangentially Christmasy - story. Still pretty fun, though!

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adaptation features a different actor in the role of Poirot, and it threw me for a loop. I mis-heard the name and thought it was Peter Sellers, so I imagined his pink panther persona when Peter Sallis as Poirot let out this crazy yell and it just didn't work for me. Since I was listening I was imagining the name Simeon Lee as "simian" (in the primate sense) and it was working since Simeon is not a very likeable man. So much blood.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this Hercule Poirot on CD during my commuting. I also got the PBS adapation from the library and watched it. I am a big fan of the Hercule TV series but really was surprised by how different the TV story was from the actual book. I didn't realize they took that much latitude when they adapt for a visual medium.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars for the audio

I have been listening to the BBC radio dramatizations of Agatha Christie novels. John Moffett was Hercule Poirot in the ones I have listened to in the past, but this one had a different voice actor for Poirot. His accent was not as good, and at times, I did not realize that it was Poirot who was speaking.

[Patricia Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-performed and adapted! I listen or read this book every Christmas, so it was nice to find a new version!

Upon this re-read it was definitely clear that this is the same plot as Knives Out. I wonder why they didn’t just go with it as a Poirot mystery? Or add more unique elements to make it not exactly the same? The only difference is the detective!

[Sissy BP · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a tradition for me to re-read this every year at Christmas time. This is one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels.

EDIT 12/17/18 - I have read the book and listened to the Audio CD this year.

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

BBC Radio is excellent. Better than tv or movies, and even reading it yourself. Sweet!

[Tamar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why Family's Holiday Sack

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

And oldie but a goodie. AC is this the best. This is the 3rd time I've read this and I still love it.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done, good voice actors.