When it comes to murder mysteries, nobody can touch the inimitable Agatha Christie. It’s fortunate, then, that a new BBC adaptation hits screens this month.
One of Christie’s lesser-known novels, 1944’s Towards Zero is an outlier in her bibliography, with no appearances from cunning Belgian Hercule Poirot or the formidable Miss Marple.
Many of the filming locations used in Towards Zero have a connection to Christie. The author was born in Devon, where the gripping drama unfolds.
Here’s everything you need to know about the cast, filming locations and how to watch it.
What is Towards Zero about?
Towards Zero transports viewers to 1930s England and more specifically, Gull’s Point, the picturesque coastal estate of Lady Tressilian, aunt to tennis ace Nevile Strange.
After making headlines following a scandalous divorce, Nevile and his ex-wife Audrey make a shock decision to spend a summer together at Gull’s Point, where they spent much of their early years.
Tensions run high with unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts and the arrival of Nevile’s new wife Kay.
Add to this mix, a long-suffering lady’s companion, a mysterious gentleman’s valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man, and you’ve got all the ingredients to a Christie classic.
A melting pot of tension, lust and vengeance leads to an almost inevitable case of murder, but discovering the culprit will be anything but straight-forward.
It’s up to Detective Inspector Leach to untangle a web of mystery and intrigue to stop the killer before they can strike again.
Check out the trailer below for a taste of the drama.
Where was Towards Zero filmed?
Murder has never looked quite so picturesque, with Towards Zero being set against the landscapes and stately homes of Devon.
The coastal county where Agatha Christie was born, lived and wrote some of her finest work isn’t the only key location, with Bristol also featuring throughout the three-part series.
Devon
Burgh Island hotel
Burgh Island was used in Towards Zero to film exterior scenes set in the fictional Easterhead Bay Hotel, while the hotel’s sea water swimming pool doubled for the hotel in Nice, France, where Nevile and new wife Kay first meet.
Burgh Island hotel is located on the south Devon coast, and it’s here that Agatha Christie wrote some of her most famous works, including And Then There Were None and the Poirot novel Evil Under the Sun.
The Forum Bath
The theatre’s lobby provided the space for the production to create the interiors to match the art deco exterior of Burgh Island.
Bantham and Thurlestone
The beaches at Bantham, where the River Avon meets the sea, and the more sheltered cove at Thurlestone, served as the fictional beaches around Saltcreek and Gulls Point. The production team worked closely with local film offices, the council and National Trust to ensure filming activity didn’t impact on local residents, including wildlife and nesting birds.
Greenway
Whilst not actually a location used in the series, Greenway was Agatha Christie’s holiday home in Devon and the inspiration behind the grand Gull's Point estate in Towards Zero.
'The house is a character in the story, a really big character,' Christie's great-grandson and series producer James Prichard explains. 'I think in some ways this story was inspired by her house in Devon, Greenway. There is something nice about having filmed some of the series in Devon, which is sort of Agatha Christie's heartland'.
Christie's home was also the source of inspiration for many of her stories that took place in a grand Georgian house.
The property is now cared for by the National Trust and is open to Christie fanatics and tourists who want to have a snoop around the beloved author’s home, peep at her prized possessions and stroll through the gardens that inspired some of literature’s best crime novels.
In 2013, Greenway was used as a filming location for Dead Man's Folly, the final episode in the Poirot TV series.
Bristol and the South West
Tyntesfield House
Gull’s Point is the country estate that anchors the drama of Towards Zero. Tyntesfield House, a National Trust property on Bristol’s outskirts, doubles up as the imposing house ruled by matriarch Lady Tressilian, complete with gothic exteriors, the ‘below stairs’ kitchen and servants quarters. Other scenes were filmed at a private home in Wiltshire.
Goldney Hall
The interior shots of Nevile Strange’s apartment were shot at Goldney Hall, one of the University of Bristol’s buildings.
Frog Lane
Situated in the heart of Bristol, Frog Lane doubles up as a busy London street and the exterior of Nevile Strange’s apartment building. The producers felt that the pale grey architecture of the street had a 1930s art deco feel that complimented the interiors of the London home.
Bristol Cathedral
The nave of Bristol Cathedral acted as a double for the exterior for Westminster’s Royal Courts of Justice in the series. Conveniently for the producers, gothic revivalist architect George Edmund Street who masterminded the Law Courts on The Strand in London, also designed the nave of Bristol Cathedral.
Sessions House in Usk, South Wales, served as the interior for the courts, paired with corridors and walkways at Grittleton House in Chippenham.
The Bath & West Showground, Somerset
To recreate 1930’s Wimbledon, producers worked with a VFX company to enhance a full-scale replica court built at The Bath & West Showground in Shepton Mallet. A room in The Province of Bristol Masonic Hall on Park Street served as the Wimbledon changing room.
📍Here’s what’s on at The Bath & West Showground
Where can I watch Towards Zero?
Towards Zero airs weekly on BBC One at 9pm from Sunday, March 2, with the finale airing on Sunday, March 16.
All three episodes will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from Sunday, March 2.
If you’re in the US, the series will air on BritBox streaming service from Wednesday, April 16, with the remaining two episodes airing across the next two nights.
Who is in the Towards Zero cast?
Anjelica Huston portrays wealthy matriarch Lady Tressilian, who owns the grand estate where the drama unfolds. The actress is perhaps best known for her roles in The Witches and The Addams Family.
Matthew Rhys plays Inspector Leach, who is tasked with solving the crime while battling his own demons. The Welsh actor is best known for taking on the lead role in HBO legal drama Perry Mason.
Clarke Peters appears as family lawyer Mr Treves. The American actor is no stranger to a crime drama, having previously appeared in Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime, Midsomer Murders, and Death in Paradise. Oh, and The Wire.
Oliver Jackson-Cohen plays famed tennis player Nevile Strange, who is at the centre of the doomed love triangle. The actor described his character as ‘the David Beckham of his time’. His previous screen credits include Larkrise to Candleford, Mr Selfridge, Dracula, and The Haunting of Hill House.
Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves) plays Nevile’s ex-wife Audrey, with Mimi Kenne (Sex Education) as the tennis champion’s new wife Kay.
Anjana Vasan (Wicked Little Letters) plays the lady’s companion Mary Aldin, Jack Farthing (Poldark) appears as the estranged Thomas Royde, Adam Hugill (Sherwood) is Nevile’s mysterious valet Mac, and Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife) is lawyer Mr Treves’ ward Sylvia.
Has Towards Zero been on screen before?
Yes, this is far from the first time that Towards Zero has been adapted for the screen.
A 2007 French movie adapted the novel, keeping the British setting with filming taking place in Salcombe, Devon.
Towards Zero was also adapted for the third series of Miss Marple, airing on ITV in 2008, despite the elderly sleuth not appearing at all in the original novel.
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