‘Agatha Christie wrote Seven Dials 96 years ago – but it’s a modern Netflix thriller’

Agatha Christie is considered one of the greatest murder mystery writers to ever live. Now, Netflix is breathing new life into her widely-loved canon with Seven Dials.

‘[She was] writing in 1929, inventing these comic, fast-paced thrillers that just whisk you up. You go through a number of different worlds, and then you’re thrown out the other side.

‘You’re like: “Wow”,’ Broadchurch and Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall tells Metro about his admiration for the prolific crime writer.

The British TV legend is behind the latest re-imagining of Christie’s work for the small screen, decidedly departing from the oft-adapted Poirot and Marple to bring us a new budding detective – Lady Eileen Brent aka Bundle (Mia McKenna-Bruce).

Delving into a niche part of the early 20th-century author’s wide-spanning repertoire, Chibnall has brought to life The Seven Dials Mystery, in which a lavish country house party in 1925 comes to a tragic end after what initially looks like a practical joke gone wrong.

But, as is always the case with Christie, the truth is far more complicated than what first meets the eye.

It’s a bold choice, but one that Chibnall clearly thought through before taking the plunge. In fact, the 55-year-old creator has long had an affinity with the iconic author.

‘I read a lot of Christie when I was a kid. She was one of the gateway drugs into reading for me,’ he explains of his ritualistic visits to the library. It was upon a re-read that he stumbled back to Seven Dials, and it instantly clicked.

‘It’s funny, it’s thrilling, it’s got loads of twists and turns,’ he praises. So essentially ‘all the stuff you love about Agatha Christie but it’s also surprising’.

The surprise comes in the shape of 20-year-old Bundle, who is ‘finding her own way as a detective’ after a shock death spurs her into action.

There may be no Poirot to ground the viewer, but for those familiar with her novels, you will recognise another vital character, Superintendent Battle who is portrayed by Martin Freeman.

He is joined by a dazzling cast of co-stars including Edward Bluemel, Nabhaan Rizwan, Helena Bonham Carter and Corey Mylechreest to name just a few.

The Sherlock star attributed the surprisingly ‘modern’ feel to the swinging 20s show to ‘both Christie and Chris.’

He shares: ‘When you read the script, [it] doesn’t feel like you need any translation from old timey stuff to now. [It] doesn’t feel like it’s really, really removed.

‘That’s partly Christie’s great talent, doing something timeless, but also [there is] stuff that isn’t just Agatha Christie, but it’s [Chris], because he’s funny, believe it or not. Some stuff in this is actually funny.’

The show lives and dies on our forthright protagonist, Bundle, but she was in safe hands with Mia.

The actor, who cut her teeth on CBBC show Tracy Beaker Returns, received widespread acclaim for her movie How to Have Sex and has since risen to stratospheric heights including landing a major role in the new Beatles biopics.

‘For me [Bundle’s] love of people, her ability to connect with each person and [for them to] really mean something to her [connected with me],’ she says.

And her craft has only grown under the steady tutelage of industry titans like Helena, who has her own brand of unconventional wisdom.

‘So many gems of wisdom,’ Mia agrees. ‘She is like a master class in all things, as a human, as an actor.

‘One of the main things that I’ve taken away is that she has an energy basket of snacks to make sure she’s got her energy up at all times.

‘She has the best snacks on the go, and we all took them and ran with them and made our own little snack basket. Everywhere I go, I need my snacks,’ she jokes.

Meanwhile, when Edward shares how he resonated with his character Jimmy (Bundle’s bestie), he immediately replies with his ‘dress sense’.

‘[Jimmy] really loves his clothes and colourful shoes which annoyingly didn’t make the cut because the camera never quite goes down. I want everyone to know when they’re watching… he is wearing gorgeous shoes,’ he reflects. 

Beyond the fun on set and within the story, though the cast appreciates the heavy backdrop to the plot, coloured by World War One which cause a whole nation to grieve.

As the My Lady Jane star explains: ‘[It’s about] enjoying the fun of the writing and the fun of  Agatha Christie, but remembering at the core of it is something super serious.

‘Death is so prevalent in that time. World War One’s just finished. People like Jimmy and all of the boys of about our age in it, everyone feels very lucky to have made it through.’

Mia echoes: ‘We always tried to go back to – they are suffering from grief and that’s especially [true] for Bundle, that’s what’s driving her through the series.’

All in all, Mia hopes the show can ‘open the world of Agatha Christie’ to new people with the adaptation, just as it has been for her with a younger generation at the helm.

As Chris sums up: ‘What we’ve talked about from the start was: ‘Can we make a treat that all Agatha Christie fans will love, that people who’ve never seen Agatha Christie will love, people who love Knives Out [will love] and just bring it back into the light.

‘Hopefully, you have a rollicking good time with it as well.’

Seven Dials is available to stream on Netflix now.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.