Sophie Révil joined me from her office in Paris for a chat about the latest Walter Presents release, ‘They Were Ten’. It’s a playful and contemporary adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie story, ‘And Then There Were None’, set in today’s times and featuring modern day issues.
I start by asking Sophie about the uniqueness of her version of an Agatha Christie classic:
‘“We are the producers in France of a series called ‘Les Petits Meurtres D’Agatha Christie’, so we’ve become friends with James Pritchard (great grandson of Agatha Christie, and CEO and Chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd). He told us that the rights for this novel would be available for a version in French.”
“I told him that this story has been done a lot of times (the BBC did a version in 2015 starring Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson and Aidan Turner, for example), but I would be interested if we could keep the basic plot, because the novel is so iconic, but change everything else!”
And that’s exactly what Sophie and her team have done. One or two Christie purists might be outraged, but it’s great fun. She continues:
“So, what we proposed first of all was an equal number of men and women (the original featured seven men and three woman, but the latest version has five of each gender); changing the time to a modern-day adaptation, which I believe has never been made; and a completely different setting – this time on a Caribbean island. A paradise island that’s not so much of a paradise in the end. And finally, we made little storylines for each of the ten that are appropriate for the 21st century.”
And that’s certainly true. Covering such issues as rape and illegal immigration, this version is far removed from the cosy mysteries that Torquay’s finest is best known for. But don’t go thinking this is dark noir – the writers’ tongues were firmly in their cheeks when they wrote this version.
I ask Sophie about one particular scene in the opening episode that could have been taken from ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ or any of those films:
“We told James that we wanted to do a more accessible slasher-style – a light slasher, you might say! There’s aren’t tons of blood, but there are some scary moments. But it’s family viewing. You know, in France, this book is extremely popular. All Agatha Christie books are very popular – France is the second biggest market after the UK for her books. They Were Ten is often the first adult book that children read, and it is even studied in secondary school.”
As mentioned earlier, the location for this version is different to the original, too. Christie’s original was set on an island off the coast of her beloved Devon; but ‘They Were Ten’ takes us somewhere far more exotic:
“It was shot in the Caribbean – in Guadeloupe, which is a department of France.”
In addition to ‘They Were Ten’ and ‘Les Petits Meurtres D’Agatha Christie’, Sophie also produced a mini series version of Hercule Poirot’s Christmas entitled ‘Petits Meurtres En Famille’ (which Matthew Pritchard, grandson of the author, called the best TV adaptation he had seen). I asked her about this Christie obsession of hers:
“My mother had all of her books with these beautiful, colourful covers from the 70s. They were my first adult books – I read them all.”
Sophie formed Escazal Films back in 1997 with Denis Carot, during which time they’ve created numerous series and films of various genres. But it wasn’t until 2009 that they truly hit the heights with ‘Les Petits Meurtres d’Agatha Christie’ for France 2. To date, 48 episodes have been made – each an adaptation of an existing Christie masterpiece.
“It’s sold in more than 60 countries, and in France it can have as many as 6 million viewers – it’s been a huge success. At its heart it is a whodunnit, but there is also comedy. It’s a family show with a lot of laughs.”
Moving away from the Queen of Crime, Sophie’s also been involved with another series currently showing on TF1 in France – ‘Syndrome E’:
“That’s from a best-selling novel by Franck Thilliez. It’s a cop story, but with some scientific experiments, too – a bit like ‘X-Files’, with two cops, one male and one female. They fall for each other…”
Before we wrap up, I ask Sophie if she’s excited for her show to be shown on UK national TV:
“I am very excited. I can’t wait. British people are much too respectful of Agatha Christie to do an adaptation like ours. We respect the spirit of the book, of course; we were very careful with that. But ACL were very happy for us to do something very different, to keep the legacy fresh. They’ve given us a lot of freedom, and we’re very grateful for that. It’s a great collaboration between England and France!”
Great to hear that Entente Cordiale is alive and kicking.
If you’re hoping for a Kenneth Branagh style traditional adaptation, you might baulk at what Sophie and her team have done here. But if you have an open mind, enjoy a “light slasher”, as she called it, then this will be right up your street. It’s fun; it doesn’t take itself too seriously; and it’s a great piece of escapism.
‘They Were Ten’ will be shown on Channel 4 at 11pm on Monday, 7th November. All episodes are available on Walter Presents via All 4 from Friday, 4th November.
