Doctor Who Vs. Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye

Julia McKenzie (born 1941) made her debut as Jane Marple in the

fourth season of ITV's popular period drama, succeeding Geraldine

 McEwan in the title role. McKenzie had previously portrayed another

of Agatha Christie's female sleuths, Ariadne Oliver (for BBC Radio 4's

 versions of Mrs. McGinty's Dead, Dead Man's Folly and Elephants

Can Remember).

The Queen of Crime's fifty-sixth crime novel (her sixth Marple mystery) was published in 1953, and this adaptation was shown on ITV3 today.

The drama first aired in September 2009 - it featured Matthew

MacFayden, Helen Baxendale, Hattie Morahan, and seventeen

Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Big Finish actor McKenzie voiced Rachel Zimmerman for No More Lies (2007), Florence Wickham/Lady Florence Bassett for The Auntie Matter (2013), and the Twelve for Planet of the Ogrons, In the Garden of Death (both 2018), Jonah and Dreadshade (both 2020)
• director Charles Palmer and Matthew Tabern (film editor) both worked on Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Human Nature and The Family of Blood - Palmer was also director of Oxygen and The Eaters of Light
• Rupert Graves (Lance Fortescue) was John Riddell in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
• Liz White (Jennifer) was Alice in The Snowmen, then voiced Genesta for The Brink of Death (2015), and Helais for The Death of Peladon (2022)
• Anna Madeley (Adele here; Barbara in Curtain) voiced Laura Lyons for The Monstrous Menagerie (2014)
• Kenneth Cranham (Rex Fortescue here; DI Bland in Dead Man's Folly, 1986; Barton in Sparkling Cyanide) voiced Tom Cardwell for Blood of the Daleks (2007)
• Ralf [Alastair John] Little (DS Pickford) voiced Guy Fawkes for The Gunpowder Plot, then was Steadfast in Smile
• Chris Larkin [born Stephens] (Wright) was Lynley in The Shakespeare Code, then voiced Arthur Pepperdine for The Quintessence (2024)
• Paul Brooke (Billingsley here; Foster in Agatha) voiced Toby for Year of the Pig (2006)
• Rachel Atkins (Sister here; Mrs. Reynolds for Hallowe'en Party; Lettice for The Murder at the Vicarage, both 1993) voiced Queen Aethelfrid/Dr. Angeline Duchamp for The Lady of Mercia (2013), Lieutenant Jane Lucas for The Screaming Skull (2014), Sol for Intervention Earth, Susannah for The Tears of Isis (both 2015), Madame Sosostris for Masterpiece, Juno for Maker of Demons, Myla for The Age of Endurance (all 2016), Minister for Embankment Station, Major Destra for The Good Master (both 2017), Margot for Goodbye Piccadilly (2018), Ro-Jedda for Aliens Among Us (2019), Zarda for Do No Harm, Governor Crompton for Like, Sarathin for The Enemy of My Enemy (all 2020), Cathrin Travers for Faustian, Dresha for Colony of Fear (both 2021), and Captain Argento for Morbius (2024)
• Wendy Richard [born Emerton] (Mrs. Crump) reprised her EastEnders role of Pauline Fowler for Dimensions in Time 
• for Greg Bennett, Damian Timmer, Sean Clayton and Nigel Squibbs see The Body in the Library
• for Tom Lucy see At Bertram's Hotel
• Gavin Walters (series gaffer here & Poirot) was an electrician on Love & Monsters