BBC Studios, the commercial arm of British broadcaster BBC, and the Agatha Christie estate have teamed up to launch a writing course on education-focused streaming service BBC Maestro taught by Christie herself. Well, to be precise, it is taught by the queen of crime, brought to life by actress Vivien Keene and AI, using the author’s own words.
“In a world-first, Agatha Christie — bestselling novelist of all time — will be offering aspiring writers an unparalleled opportunity to learn the secrets behind her writing, in her own words,” the partners said. “Using meticulously restored archival interviews, private letters and writings researched by a team of Christie experts, this pioneering course reconstructs Christie’s own voice and insights, guiding you through the art of suspense, plot twists and unforgettable characters.”
The partners unveiled news of “Agatha Christie Writing” in London on Wednesday, describing it as “the first-ever collaboration of its kind” and “an entirely new and original project unlike anything we’ve done before.”
Nicki Sheard, CEO of brands and licensing at BBC Studios, in a video highlighted that there has been “so much debate in our industry about how to apply AI.” She added: “We’re really proud to showcase that we have done this in a way that we think deploys incredible care and craft, great thought and the utmost respect to all of the contributors. And of course, the underlying IP is particularly special to us at BBC Studios because it embodies so many of the things that matter to us — backing the best in British storytelling and perhaps, in fact, the best British storyteller ever, meaningful innovation through the application of technology, and, of course, working with the most brilliant and best partners there are.”
Concluded Sheard: “Agatha Christie was an icon of British storytelling, and to be able to deploy this technology in a way that is ethical and thoughtful, to both honor her legacy and bring her genius to a new generation in a fresh and different way, is a great thing to be able to do.”
The executive highlighted that a panel of experts, creators and actors worked together to ensure “meticulous planning” and a “really, really extraordinary” result.
Key to the success of the venture was the blessing and collaboration of Agatha Christie Ltd. and its chairman and CEO James Pritchard, the great-grandson of Christie’s. “They have been deeply involved from the beginning, and they have made sure this is not just something that Agatha would have understood, but, we hope, as a bit of an innovator herself, would have really enjoyed,” said Sheard.
“The casting process went through, I think, probably hundreds of actresses, looking at the facial biometrics,” Keene shared during a panel hosted by BBC host Lucy Worsley. “So I literally got the job [based] on the shape of my face.”
”It was unlike any other job,” she said about the experience, sharing that the director instructed her not to move her head too much. “Agatha Christie hadn’t been filmed from the sides very much, and there’s very little film, hardly any at all,” she explained. “So, the AI couldn’t cope” with material shot from the side.
For the audio, Christie’s and the actress’ voices were put together. “You can hear my voice isn’t anything like Christie’s,” Keene said. “And so I tried to get just the cadence. … Her voice is pretty distinctive, actually, her voice, and she’s very shy and feisty, and she doesn’t really like being interviewed. And so I started to put the voice on thinking that they want me to use my voice in the final edit. But it has been re-speeched, I think is the word.”
The original project partnership was unveiled during a press event at the luxury hotel Claridge’s in London’s Mayfair district.
Claridge’s features in several of Christie’s works. For example, in One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Rebecca Arnholt stays at the famous. It also features in Cat Among the Pigeons, The Secret Adversary, and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, in which Lady Peterhampton invites Frankie Derwent to a party at Claridge’s.
”Writing is a massive focus for us,” explained BBC Maestro CEO Mark Levine.
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