I’m not sure if you can actually hang knitting needles up, but it seems the right thing to say in light of the announcement that Geraldine McEwan will be saying goodbye to the role of Miss Marple after three years. With two more Marple investigations to be shown, McEwan will have clocked up 12 appearances as Agatha Christie’s much-loved amateur sleuth by the time she bows out.
“I am sure that my successor, whomever she may be, will thoroughly enjoy her time with the production team and with the extraordinarily talented group of writers and actors that they come up with for each series,”
the actress has said on the announcement.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been that sold on these Miss Marple adaptations. They feel a little bit too camp, too slight for my liking, and McEwan never entirely convinced in the role – perhaps she wasn’t entirely convinced herself. But I know that many people do enjoy the show, and McEwan is one of the finest actresses we have, so I’ve decided I’m going to be sad about this news.
What I do find interesting is ITV’s clear intent to cast a successor to McEwan quick sharp. I don’t know about you, but I might find that a bit jarring and I hope there’s going to be a reasonable gap before the new Miss Marple is unveiled (sorry, I refuse to call her just Marple). She’s an iconic character, and each incarnation should be given chance to breath and be absorbed into popular culture before moving on. Could you imagine a new Sherlock Holmes arriving six months after Jeremy Brett? It would be sacrilege.
As I say, I wasn’t that keen on McEwan’s casting, but her interpretation deserves a little more than being brushed under the carpet so quickly.
But with the search now on for a new Miss Marple, we have to consider just who might step into the famous twin set (come to think of it, did she ever wear a twin set?) Names being bandied around the walkways and cloisters of TV Today towers include, in no particular order (and not all entirely serious)
Linda Bassett
Celia Imrie
June Whitfield (has played the part on radio)
Felicity Montagu
Joanna Lumley
Judi Dench
Maggie Smith
Miriam Margolyes
Wendy Richard
Lisa Bowerman
Gemma Jones
Biggins
Kim and Aggie (How Clean Is Your Murder Scene - On Ice? Anybody? Oi, come back!)
Personally, of the serious contenders on that list, I’d be well up for Gemma Jones taking on the role – as long as she could do both Spooks and Marple, that is. I wouldn’t want to lose Connie for anything. What do other readers think?
In other crime genre related news, I’m more than a little under whelmed by this little gem from BBC2. Yes, Murder Most Famous, in which several z-list celebrities learn how to write a crime novel. It seems that ubiquitous reality show face Brendan Cole has danced his way into the ID parade of celebs taking part, with more promised soon. Blimey, if Brendan is the best they can do, I can’t wait to hear the rest.
It doesn’t sound quite as bad as Food Poker, but the bottom of the barrel is frighteningly close.
The suggestion that Harry Hill would play Miss Marple in drag and decide who was the murderer with 'FIGHT!' was popular too. Knowing ITV it will have to pick one of it's golden handcuff candidates though, so I anticipate: Ant and Dec, Martin Clunes or Caroline Quentin. Perhaps Jane Asher would have been in with a chance were she not now on ITV screens regularly. Not that such things usually bother ITV... What about Cilla Black?
I too was never a fan of rebranding as "Marple" nor casting GMcE in the title role. Having said that I watched most of the episodes and they were enjoyable (just not Miss Marple!). Gemma Jones or Celia Imrie would be my choice....
As far as Sherlock Holmes goes, Jeremy Brett was so perfect in the role that re-casting it is still sacrilege. As anybody who saw the Richard Roxburgh Hound of the Baskervilles or that terrible Rupert Everett thing will know.
I agree with the sentiment that this new series of Marple (!) never rang right. Not only did they change Miss Marple into someone hip(!) but they even changed the story line several times. I stopped watching the series when the script writers even changed the murderer in The Body In the Library !!! That is sacriledge in my mind. Thinking they can improve on Agatha Christie ! I don't normally shout at my television screen, but I did then.