Agatha Christie star Oliver Jackson-Cohen unveils gruelling conditions on set of BBC show
Oliver Jackson-Cohen, star of the BBC's adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1944 novel, Towards Zero, still gets chills recalling the filming experience.
The actor, 38, stars as renowned tennis player Nevile Strange in the three-part series, set to air on BBC One on March 2, 2025. In the show, Oliver Jackson-Cohen is at the height of his fame - but his love life is in shambles.
After a highly publicised divorce from his wife Audrey, his aunt, Lady Tressilian, invites him and his new wife Kay to Gull's Point, setting the stage for a murder mystery when Lady Tressilian (played by Anjelica Huston) is found bludgeoned to death. Inspector Leach, played by Matthew Rhys, is brought in to uncover the truth.
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Despite the drama being set in summer 1936, Oliver and co-stars Mimi Keene and Ella Lily Hyland faced harsh conditions while filming in Devon. "It wasn't a time to get into the sea, and we do it a lot in this," Oliver recalls, adding that you can see his discomfort as he steps into the freezing water.
Former EastEnders actress Mimi concurs, saying they were shivering until action was called. However, Anjelica Huston's presence on set provided some much-needed warmth.
"She showed up unbelievably prepared, gracious and kind," Oliver remembers, adding that her presence made everyone behave their best.
Later, she even spotlighted her down-to-earth nature by buying lunch. "I was nervous at first but she made me feel so relaxed," Mimi reveals about the encounter.
The Hollywood icon, Anjelica, found joy in the simplicity of her role: "Bed is one of my favourite places to be, so I was immediately happy with that," she explains. "It's not often one is called onto a film and placed in bed. Usually it's the other way around. So I appreciated all my moments in bed."
For Oliver, his role in Towards Zero carried a deep personal connection, being a cherished bond with his late father. "My dad was obsessed with them," he reminisces.
"I bought him the DVD boxset of Poirot and we used to sit and watch them. Sadly he's no longer with us, so when the phone call came in to do this, I wanted to do it for him."
Interestingly, the cast reflects on the lasting appeal of Agatha Christie mysteries, with Mimi pointing out the enduring nature of the human condition: "We're still humans and we still have emotions," she observes. "A lot of the things that come up in this would still come up in everyday life, it just looks different."
Ella sees analogies between Christie's work and contemporary reality shows, musing, "It's almost like The Traitors," She goes on to admire Christie's astute representations of societal norms: "What Agatha Christie does really cleverly is depict what facets of human nature our society is most comfortable with. It's like a mirror for the audience."
