Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough and Kim Cattrall have been cast in BBC One’s forthcoming adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Witness For The Prosecution.
The short story is one of Christie’s most celebrated titles and was previously turned into a successful stage play and a much-loved film directed by Billy Wilder.
BBC One’s two-part version has been written by Sarah Phelps whose adaptation of Christie’s And Then There Were None won critical and audience acclaim.
Set in 1920s London, the story follows the trial of Leonard Vole (Billy Howle) who is accused of murdering the glamorous and enormously rich Emily French (Cattrall).
All the evidence points to Vole to whom the heiress left her vast fortune and who ruthlessly took her life. At least, that’s the story Emily’s dedicated housekeeper Janet Mackenzie stands by in court.
However Leonard is adamant that his partner, the enigmatic chorus girl Romaine (Riseborough), can prove his innocence. Tasked with representing Leonard is his solicitor John Mayhew (Jones) and King’s Counsel, Sir Charles Carter KC (David Haig).
The Witness For The Prosecution is being produced by Mammoth Screen, the production house responsible for And Then There Were None and Agatha Christie Productions and is being directed by Julian Jarrold (The Crown, The Girl, Appropriate Adult).