Drama of the Week

By Jan Carson.
In 1930, Agatha Christie was commissioned to write a new mystery story. However, this story was to contain clues to a real-life treasure-hunt to take place on the Isle of Man. The story would then be serialised in a newspaper to encourage tourists to visit and find the hidden treasure.
This drama imagines what could have taken place during her visit to the island.
Starring Jeany Spark as Agatha Christie.
Author
Jan Carson is a writer based in Belfast. She has published three novels, three short story collections and two micro-fiction collections. Her novel ‘The Fire Starters’ won the EU Prize for Literature for Ireland 2019 and her subsequent novel ‘The Raptures’ was shortlisted for the An Post Irish Novel of the Year and Kerry Group Novel of the Year in 2022. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was the Seamus Heaney Centre Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast 2025. Her latest novel ‘Few and Far Between’ was published in 2026.
Cast:
Agatha Christie ... Jeany Spark
Arthur Binns Crookall ... David Holt
Alice Crookall ... Jane Slavin
Photographer ... Tom Kiteley
Colonel Westerly ... Jon Glover
All other parts were played by the company.
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden.
Sound Design: Keith Graham
Written by Jan Carson
Directed by Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.