Doctor Who Vs. Miss Marple: A Pocketful of Rye

My favourite Agatha Christie crime novel (her

fifty-sixth, correctly titled A Pocket Full of Rye)

was published in 1953 - this BBC adaptation

was shown on Drama last night.

The original (and still the most faithful) Miss 

Marple TV series began with The Body in the
Library in 1984. Joan Hickson (1906-1998) 

portrayed the title role in twelve cases, until 

1992. This thriller was the fourth in the run,

and first aired in March 1985. An ITV version

followed in 2009.

George Gallaccio (production unit manager on

thirty-one Doctor Who episodes) was series

producer, whilst Peter Davison played Lance

Fortescue here - this two-part mystery also

featured sixteen cast and crew connections:

• Annette Badland (Gladys here; Spriggs in Five Little Pigs) was Margaret Blaine [Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen] in Aliens of London, World War Three and Boom Town (then reprised for Big Finish's Sync), and voiced Queen Karlina for Equilibrium, Thelma for Suburban Hell (both 2015), Guilana for Asking for a Friend (2017), Judge/Computer for Barrister to the Stars, Mrs. Slinger/Batraxus for Whatever Remains, Maude Polwart/Mermaid for The Ghost Writers (all 2020), Mrs. Goose/ Fleshkin for The Hunting Season (2021), Mrs. Chinn for Mind of the Hodiac, the eponymous role for The Miniaturist, and Eminent Sedanya for Blood of the Time Lords (all 2022)
• Timothy [Lancaster] West (Rex Fortescue here; Easterfield in Murder is Easy; Kenward in Agatha; Cottrell in Hallowe'en Party) voiced Kai Tobias for Phobos (2007), Ronald Turvey for Cuddlesome (2008), and Dr. Magnus Soames for House of Blue Fire (2011)
• Clive [Robert] Merrison (Percival here; Strange for Three Act Tragedy) was Jim Callum in The Tomb of the Cybermen, and the Deputy Chief Caretaker in Paradise Towers, then voiced Sir Frederick Maltravers for BBV Productions' The Barnacled Baby (2001), and George Augustus for The Contingency Club (2017)
• Rachel [born Linda] Bell (Jennifer here; Mrs. Nicoletis in Hickory Dickory Dock) was Priscilla P in The Happiness Patrol
• Jon Glover (DS Hay) voiced Shellingborne Grant for Slipback, then provided voices for The Sarah Jane Adventures, and voiced Creodot for False Gods, Dr. Verryman for Order of Simplicity (both 2008), Father Christmas for Death in Blackpool (2009), Jafrid for The Well-Mannered War (2015), Sir James for Infidel Places, and Dr. Gommen for The Stuntman (both 2022)
• [Albert] Frank Mills (Crump here; DCI Hearne in Witness for the Prosecution, 1982) was the Telescope Director in (episode 1 of) Terror of the Autons
• Louis [Felix Danner] Mahoney (French) was Newscaster in Frontier in Space, Ponti in Planet of Evil, and the elder Billy Shipton in Blink
• Charles Pemberton (Rose here; Stooge in Four and Twenty Black- birds) was a Cyberman (also for Tomb) and Technician in The War Games
• [Dilys] Rhoda Lewis (Mrs. Brogan here, 4.50 from Paddington & The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side) was Marta in State of Decay
• [William] Pat Gorman (Golfer here; Commissionaire in Finessing the King; Sergeant in The ABC Murders; Londoner in The Case of the Missing Will) appeared in eighty-three classic series episodes (from The Dalek Invasion of Earth to Attack of the Cybermen)
• for John Walker and Bill Chesneau see The Body in the Library
• Graham Walker was also the film editor on all five of Joe Ahearne's episodes for Series 1
• production designer Michael Young devised the impressive sets for The Massacre
• Judy Pepperdine was costume designer on Warriors of the Deep too
• location manager Christopher Moss was an uncredited AFM on The Power of Kroll

The cast of the BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of A Pocket Full of Rye
(1995) was again led by June Whitfield, with Doctor Who guest stars:

• Nicky Henson (DI Neele here; Lee in Hercule Poirot's Christmas, 1986) voiced Pieter Stubbe for Loups-Garoux (2011), Dick Turpin for The Doomwood Curse (2008), and Gregson Grenville for Deimos and The Resurrection of Mars (both 2010)
• Derek Waring (Fortescue here; Erskine in Sleeping Murder, 2001) was Shardovan in Castrovalva