Murder is Easy viewers left ‘wincing’ at ‘awful errors’ as they spot blunders in new BBC drama
BBC Murder Is Easy viewers were left fuming after they spotted a historical blunder in the first instalment of the Agatha Christie adaptation.
The series follows 30-year-old actor David Jonsson as detective Luke Fitzwilliam, tasked with investigating deaths in a rural fictional town after being alerted by Miss Lavinia Pinkerton, played by Penelope Wilton, during a train journey.
The detective feels more than obliged to investigate the deaths after he later discovers in the episode that Miss Pinkerton was found dead.
Show bosses have made several changes in the new TV adaptation to modernise it, including Fitzwilliam’s arrival in the UK from Nigeria.
The only person in the village who seems to welcome the detective is a woman called Bridget, played by Morfydd Clark, while others constantly say the mysterious words “take care” and seemingly keep a wary eye on him.
But it seems the more Fitzwilliam investigates and hunts for clues and answers, the more skilful the murderer or murderers become as they strike again time after time.
Eagle-eyed viewers of the show took to X(Twitter) and highlighted the historical blunder in the latest BBC whodunit after they spotted a reference to the betting magazine, The Racing Post, first published on April 15, 1986.
However, Murder Is Easy was set decades earlier, in 1954, meaning the publication wasn’t around then.
One viewer raged: “#Murderiseasy there was no Racing Post at this time, plus the NHS had arrived Awful errors. @BBCOne.”
A second viewer added: “I winced at the mention of ‘Racing Post’. Sporting Life ruled supreme, of course. #MurderIsEasy.”
Another viewer noted the storyline, saying: “Not sure you’d be poring over the Racing Post in the Fifties.”
A fourth user referenced the Racing Post blunder and said: “That was the final straw.”
However, many viewers of Murder is Easy took to the social media platform and penned down how impressed they were with the show, as one user wrote: “I adore how they manage to make everyone so sus in an Agatha Christie adaption #MurderIsEasy.”
Another followed: “The #MurderIsEasy drama an interesting take so far on what is a book without either Poirot or Marple. Always good to see a fresh take on Christie. Good chance this will expand the Christie following. Shall be watching the 2nd episode on iPlayer ASAP.”
In an interview with The Independent before the show aired, David, who will be the first-ever Black hero in an Agatha Christie adaptation, admitted he had to be convinced quite a bit to star as detective Fitzwilliam.
The Rye Lane star said: I love Agatha Christie, but it wasn’t what I really wanted to do next,
“My agent said, ‘Think about it.’ And I did, and I said, ‘No, I’m good.’” Why? “Look, I don’t consider myself a revolutionary at all, but anything that I do has to feel real, and if I can’t put a certain level of authenticity into it, I don’t want to do it.
He added: That’s the thing with the Agatha Christies – it’s like they’re kind of set in their ways, to some degree. And I’m not a fan of colour-blind casting. So if I’m going to do it, you have to see a Black man in all of his ways.
“I didn’t know how that would fit into an Agatha Christie. I just couldn’t visualise it.”
The last of the two episodes of the murder investigation drama will air tonight at 9pm.
Murder Is Easy episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.