The BBC is using artificial intelligence to bring the voice and likeness of best-selling novelist Agatha Christie to life.
Using restored archival interviews, private letters, and writings researched by a team of Christie experts, the BBC Maestro platform has created a course for aspiring writers by reconstructing Christie’s own voice and insights.
Christie will impart her insights on story structure, cast creation, plot twists, red herrings, and the art of suspense, drawn directly from her own writings and archival interviews.
BBC Maestro has collaborated with a professional actress, Vivien Keene, and visual effects artists to create a faithful representation of Christie’s voice and likeness.
AI-enhanced technology and licensed images, and restored audio recordings have also been used to capture Christie’s presence and voice.
BBC Maestro said the result delivers an experience that feels as though she is speaking directly to the audience.
Christie is the world’s best-selling author, with over two billion books sold, 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, and the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap.
The course has been curated by leading Christie scholars Dr. Mark Aldridge, Michelle Kazmer, Gray Robert Brown, and Jamie Bernthal-Hooker, with the full support and approval of Agatha Christie’s family.
James Prichard, Agatha Christie’s great-grandson, Chairman and CEO of Agatha Christie Limited, said: “The team of academics and researchers that BBC Maestro has assembled have extracted from a number of her writings an extraordinary array of her views and opinions on how to write. Through this course, you truly will receive a lesson in crafting a masterful mystery, in Agatha’s very own words.”
You are not signed in
Only registered users can comment on this article.
Macquarie to sell Arqiva stake for £16.5m
Macquarie Asset Management has agreed to the sale of its 26.5% stake in broadcast infrastructure firm Arqiva for £16.5m.
Banijay UK beefs up in-house post operations
Banijay UK will increase its in-house post-production capabilities by launching new facilities in London, doubling capacity in Glasgow, and investing in Manchester.
Spain’s LaLiga agrees €5.25bn football rights with Telefónica and DAZN
Spanish football league LaLiga has agreed a new set of domestic media contracts for more than €5.25bn, with Telefónica and DAZN retaining rights from 2027 to 2032.
BBC remains popular but “must take a firmer grip” in crises, says Ofcom
Despite funding pressures and a rapidly changing media landscape, the BBC remains popular with audiences, with 83% of UK adults using its services weekly, according to media regulator Ofcom.
TikTok and YouTube trigger influencer boom among older audiences
Older internet users are fuelling the growth of influencer videos, according to new research from Ampere Analysis, which shows that half of 55- to 64-year-olds now watch influencer content every week.
