Doctor Who Vs. Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Agatha Christie's sixteenth crime novel was

her most successful book to date - it remains
Hercule Poirot's most renowned (and adapted)

case. The book was serialised in America as

Murder in the Calais Coach (1933), then issued

as Murder on the Train.

The Queen of Crime's inspiration for the story's

setting was personal - in 1931, her own journey

on the train was delayed by flooding. The back-

ground behind the titular crime was based on

the actual Lindbergh kidnapping case of 1932.

The second big-screen version of the mystery

was released by Fox in 2017, with the Belgian

now portrayed by Kenneth Branagh, who also

directed the film. 

Screened on Channel 4 last night, the thriller featured Derek Jacobi, Miranda Raison,

Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Penélope Cruz, Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer,

Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, and twenty-six Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• [Sarah Caroline] Olivia Colman (Hildegarde) was Mother in The Eleventh Hour, then made a cameo appearance in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, and was Narrator of BBC Books' The Forgotten Army (2010)
• Gerard [James Pertwee] Horan (Aynesworth here; PC Flagg in Double Sin; DS Fletcher in A Murder is Announced, 2005) was Clark/Father of Mine in Human Nature and The Family of Blood
• Michael Rouse (Chief Inspector here; Private in Death on the Nile, 2022) voiced Young Beowulf for Big Finish's Black and White, and Caedmon/Festucas for Wrath of the Iceni (both 2012)
• Elliot Levey (Rabbi) voiced Gobernar/Blank for Vampire of the Mind (2016), and Colonel Marsden for Red Planets (2018)
• David Annen (Priest) depicted Peter Brachacki in An Adventure in Space and Time
• Joseph Long (Imam here; Luigi in The Yellow Iris) was Rocco Colasanto in Turn Left, and the Pope in Extremis
• Hadley Fraser (Escort) was Gareth Evans in Army of Ghosts
• Adam [Gabriel] Garcia (Italian here; Starr in The Body in the Library, 2004; Syd in Death on the Nile, 2022) was Alex Klein in The Christmas Invasion
• Phil Dunster (Armstrong) voiced Scarp for The Forest of Penitence, and Kerrif for Boundaries (both 2022)
• Kate Tydman (Chef) was the Paris Reporter on In the Forest of the Night
• Tate Pitchie-Cooper (Pauper) was the Young Landlord in Knock Knock
• Irfan Shamji (Officer) voiced Jaks for The Moons of Vulpana (2019)
• [William Henry] Richard Clifford (Maitre D' here & Sparkling Cyanide; cast in Spider's Web, 2020) voiced Novar for The Master's Dalek Plan, Pandak for Shockwave (both 2019), Merlin for The Lone Centurion 2, and Jessop for Mind of the Hodiac (both 2022)
• Chris Porter (Station Master) was Smiler/Winder in The Beast Below
• Darryl Clark (Barman) was Officer Will in Resolution
• Bern Collaco (Guest) was Operator in The Return of Doctor Mysterio, and Soldier in Thin Ice
• Richard Price (Citizen here; Gondoliero in A Haunting in Venice) was Guest in The Runaway Bride and The Lazarus Experiment, Passerby in Partners in Crime and The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Mark of the Berserker, Takran Soldier in The Doctor's Daughter, Cyberman in World Enough and Time, The Doctor Falls, Ascension of the Cybermen, The Timeless Children, Once, Upon Time and The Power of the Doctor, Team mate in Kerblam!, Sniperbot in The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, Judoon in Fugitive of the Judoon, Dalek operator in Revolution of the Daleks, Tourist in The Halloween Apocalypse and The Vanquishers, and Shadow Kin in Class
• Tina Maskell, Derek Lea, Rob Hunt, James O'Donnell, Lloyd Bass, Gary Hoptrough, Levan Doran, Rick English, Guy List, Sam Stefan, Leo Woodruff, Lewis Young and Neil Finnighan were also stunt performers on the revived run