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New Marple: The Pale Horse

wolfbridge 22 Feb 10 at 4:47 p.m. GMT

from digitalspy.co.uk

This Morning host Holly Willoughby has landed a cameo role in a new Miss Marple drama.

The TV presenter revealed the news on today's show, admitting that she was given the part as a birthday present by the ITV production team.

Willoughby will play 17th century witch Goody Carne in the murder mystery show, which stars Julia McKenzie in the lead role. The episode, titled 'The Pale Horse', will also include Nicholas Parsons, popstar and ex-Neighbours actress Holly Valance, Young Ones actor Nigel Planer and Sarah Alexander.

"It's been a lifelong ambition for me to appear in one of the Marple films as I've been a fan for years," said the 29-year-old.

"I had an amazing time and felt very welcomed by everyone on set, especially Julia McKenzie, who kindly lent me her handwarmers on our cold night shoot. I'm so grateful to everyone who made this possible for me."

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43 replies

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murder_is_easy123 29 Oct 11 at 10:44 a.m. GMT

As my favourite novel, The Pale Horse was a delight to watch last summer. I found it to be creepy, scary and I liked the way that they inserted Miss Marple (Julia McKenzie) into the film! 10/10

wolfbridge 29 Mar 10 at 11:22 p.m. GMT

http://mip.globalent.itv.com/

MissQuin 29 Mar 10 at 7:41 p.m. GMT

I was joking of course, when I said about someone being burnt at the take. I honestly wouldn't wish it on anyone.

It does suggest a different tone to Marple? I think alot of people will welcome more seriousness after the McEwan's were quite frothy.

HeiseiHolmes 29 Mar 10 at 5:13 p.m. GMT

Maybe with a little slip of the fire, or too much flammable stuff...

I'm looking at this, and wondering when I became so mean!!

MissQuin 27 Mar 10 at 5:27 p.m. GMT

I think it could be flashback to history. I think their trying to give the marple a sinister feel. I think'll the witch will know how Joan of Arc felt... I mean it's not possible not to be injured is it?

HeiseiHolmes 27 Mar 10 at 5:21 p.m. GMT

Oh, good God. That's so stupid! I hope it's not part of the story, but just something the Pale Horse women are talking about from history, and then it appaers on the screen like in CSI, if you know what I mean. I do hope she gets slightly injured in the burning scene...

MissQuin 26 Mar 10 at 6 p.m. GMT

Holly W is playing a made up witch called Goody something. She gets burnt at the stake. I'm looking forward to that scene! cackles

MissQuin 26 Mar 10 at 5:52 p.m. GMT

This reply contains spoiler information. Show reply

I'm afraid I don't like Jonathan Cake. JJ Feild is very good, but it's suprising.

I think the motive of a character will be changed. I can't see how the person playing them, would play it the same way as in the books. Their not inconspicous, they don't fade into the background. I suppose it'll be more of the money angle. Or make them up to be really plain.

Bundle_ 26 Mar 10 at 5:47 p.m. GMT

Yeah, there are a lot of great actors lined up for it, like Johnathan Cake and of course JJ Feild, but the roles they are playing are a bit surprising.

I just realized...that Willoughby girl must be playing Poppy!

MissQuin 26 Mar 10 at 5:43 p.m. GMT

Ive got The Pale Horse recorded, but I havnt watched it yet. I know I shouldn't judge the Pale horse yet, it's too soon. But some of the names and casting choices sound odd...

Bundle_ 26 Mar 10 at 5:40 p.m. GMT

That's the great thing: There has been another version of The Pale Horse so if this one is ruined then there is still a faithful version that us AC fans can fall back on. And the legacy of TPH will always live in on in the older version...But w/ The Secret of Chimney's this is not the case...

TheButlerDidIT 26 Mar 10 at 1:52 p.m. GMT

That made me laugh!

MissQuin 25 Mar 10 at 7:49 p.m. GMT

Good for you Butler! I'm surprised she likes Agatha C, on the other hand she's said she's a fan of the Marple TV series. She hasn't actually said she's read the books. I suppose she might blag a part for her her friend Fearne Cotton. Fearne could appear as a nun, who practises witchcraft in her spare time.

TheButlerDidIT 25 Mar 10 at 5:50 p.m. GMT

MissQuin

I almost choked reading this!!  I find Holly Willoughby one of the most shallow, loud, rude and most annoying people on British TV! Sorry to any Holly fans, but thats how I feel. In fairness I don't know what her acting skills are like, I wont judge her by those until I see her in the Pale Horse.

I don't like her either Miss Quinn!

Nofret 25 Mar 10 at 1:44 p.m. GMT

Omigod! I missed all this while I was on holiday! Another of my top 10 Christies is about to be butchered! Or has this travesty already been broadcast?

If it aint broke, why fix it? In my opinion, the earlier version of The Pale Horse, with Jean Marsh, Hermione Norris and (did you spot him?) Andy "Gollum" Serkis was spot on. The period detail, mini-skirts, music etc was perfect, especially the upper-class girl fancying the "bit of rough"!

The only quibble Christie purists might have had is that the murderer was based on a real person from Christie's past, and this adaptation changed their occupation.

The cast list sounds pretty pathetic. Nicholas Parsons!!!!!! And I agree that Osbourne should be played by someone middle-aged, small and nondescript. James Bolam springs to mind - what do you think?

PS just noticed luvly Jonathan Cake's name so may force myself to watch it after all!

McGinty 26 Feb 10 at 6:56 a.m. GMT

Lone_Wolf

Go_leafs, how can you propose such an improbable, hackish, sensationalist tweaking of the plot! It would be much better to make the three inhabitants of "Pale Horse" lesbians who live in a charming treesome with each other and who killed Father Gorman because of his raging homophobia. It would be very sympathetic, far better then what Christie wrote! We could also make Venables and Osborne secret neo-nazis who poison all those they deem undeserving to live. Very intriguing, far better then all that "withcraft" nonsense! If modern audience wants withcraft, they usually watch Harry Potter or something like this, not Christie adaptions. See, unlike your hackery, my scenario is an acceptable interpretation of AC's famous novel which keeps the best of it and gots rid of the worst.

This is frightening because it could so easily come true !

McGinty 26 Feb 10 at 6:55 a.m. GMT

MissQuin

Bundle_

MissQuin

Mr Osborne (JJ Felid) somehow gets soaked with rain, or maybe even blood. He gets back and has to take his shirt off...

Oh if only that would happen! *Faint*

Well, we can dream! Maybe Ive given the producer an idea..

Well you've certainly given ME ideas !!

MissQuin 25 Feb 10 at 3:30 p.m. GMT

Bundle_

MissQuin

Mr Osborne (JJ Felid) somehow gets soaked with rain, or maybe even blood. He gets back and has to take his shirt off...

Oh if only that would happen! *Faint*

Well, we can dream! Maybe Ive given the producer an idea..

Bundle_ 25 Feb 10 at 3:13 p.m. GMT

MissQuin

Mr Osborne (JJ Felid) somehow gets soaked with rain, or maybe even blood. He gets back and has to take his shirt off...

Oh if only that would happen! *Faint*

Lone_Wolf 25 Feb 10 at 3:10 p.m. GMT

Go_leafs, how can you propose such an improbable, hackish, sensationalist tweaking of the plot! It would be much better to make the three inhabitants of "Pale Horse" lesbians who live in a charming treesome with each other and who killed Father Gorman because of his raging homophobia. It would be very sympathetic, far better then what Christie wrote! We could also make Venables and Osborne secret neo-nazis who poison all those they deem undeserving to live. Very intriguing, far better then all that "withcraft" nonsense! If modern audience wants withcraft, they usually watch Harry Potter or something like this, not Christie adaptions. See, unlike your hackery, my scenario is an acceptable interpretation of AC's famous novel which keeps the best of it and gots rid of the worst.

MissQuin 25 Feb 10 at 2:53 p.m. GMT

I'm afraid my mind isn't twisted enough to come with shocking Marple plots. My imagination doesnt work that way. On the other hand, Ive come up with an exciting scene:

Mr Osborne (JJ Felid) somehow gets soaked with rain, or maybe even blood. He gets back and has to take his shirt off...

Thrilling stuff, or it is for me

McGinty 25 Feb 10 at 6:54 a.m. GMT

I just hope ITV are not reading this go leafs !  They might take your plot outline seriously ! Sadly what you write isn't at all far fetched compared to some of the episodes we have already suffered !

go_leafs_nation 25 Feb 10 at 1:25 a.m. GMT

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Oh, come on, it isn't twisted enough! What really happened is that Osborne was sexually abused by Gorman as a child, and as an adult murdered him for revenge, providing the police with a description of his lover, Venables, to give himself a cast-iron alibi.

The 'murder' was pure luck- Captain Cottram had a weak heart, argued with the sisters before going to his room, and collapsed dead. Later, Miss Marple, secretly a Nazi who plans to take over the world alongside Hitler who is really alive, decapitates the captain so that nobody notices his death was natural.

As for the Pale Horse, it is an organization of Communists who plan to detonate a nuclear bomb in Buckingham Palace.

But the true guilty party is the Pope, who bought fake portraits from a black American jazz singer, in order to sell it to the Swedish hockey player who has an advanced Oedipus complex.

The case is closed!

MissQuin 24 Feb 10 at 6:26 p.m. GMT

This made up character Capatian Cottram is found dead, so maybe his wife employed the Pale Horse to finnish him off and run off with his money and Mr Osborne. silly I know, it's not even sordid enough. Unless Mr Osborne is Kanga's long lost brother.

GKfan- Miss Marple had an endless supply of godchildren, nieces, nephews and just friends.  As you point out they always end up involved in murders.

go_leafs_nation 24 Feb 10 at 3:12 a.m. GMT

Good observations, GKC! I hadn't noticed that, to be honest. I'm beginning to think there's some sort of connection here between this little old lady walking about her way and people dropping like flies left and right...

GKCfan 23 Feb 10 at 9:50 p.m. GMT

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And yes, go_leafs_nation, I think that you're quite right to suspect the introduction of sex-related motives.  They had better not draw Father Gorman into some tacky subplot like they did with a nun in Nemesis...  

GKCfan 23 Feb 10 at 9:45 p.m. GMT

By the way, we're assuming that they're keeping the identity of the killer the same, but for all we know, they may have switched the guilty party entirely!

GKCfan 23 Feb 10 at 9:42 p.m. GMT

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Well, if you look at the lives of Cardinal Newman, Monsignor Ronald Knox, and other prominent Catholic priests in England throughout the early twentieth century, there are many cases of Catholic priests and Anglicans being good friends.  You're quite right that there was some hostility along religious lines, but I can buy Miss Marple being friends with a Catholic priest.  The problem seems to lie with her having friends at all in the new Marple series!  If you look at Miss Murgatroyd in A Murder is Announced, Lady Tressilian in Towards Zero, Gwenda in Ordeal by Innocence, Gladys in A Pocket Full of Rye, Lavinia Pinkerton in Murder is Easy, and now Father Gorman (or whatever his name is now) in Pale Horse, it seems like every time they try to introduce Miss Marple into the plot by making her friends with someone else, that character winds up getting murdered!  Yes, I know that Miss Marple was already in Murder is Announced, but she didn't know Miss Murgatroyd in the original, and her mentorship with Gladys is in the original book, but in many cases where they've tried to explain Miss Marple's presence by making her friends with an existing character, the character dies! 

go_leafs_nation 23 Feb 10 at 8:49 p.m. GMT

I don't form my judgement of an actor's abilities based on one role alone. If I can bring myself to watch more of Feild, I may yet change my mind (as I have done before with other actors). But from what I've observed of his roles so far, he's been consistently mediocre, his one excellent outing (Death on the Nile) balanced out by his one awful outing (Goal 3).

Either way, Feild's Osborne has gone from an aging chemist who saw the attacker as he walked by his shop to a young lodger who knew the victim in the first place. There's a hint right there that this story is going in a completely opposite direction. Hands up for those who think repressed sexuality or incest will have a role in the motive.

McGinty 23 Feb 10 at 8:34 p.m. GMT

JJ Field was excellent in the Sally Lockhart Mysteries, and in Death On The Nile and Telstar, so I expect he'll be good in The Pale Horse. Besides, I like JJ Field for reasons other than his acting ! So frankly I couldn't care just so long as he's in it ! I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed Evans as much as I did was because of Sean Biggerstaff - not that I would want anyone to presume I was shallow !

MissQuin 23 Feb 10 at 8:32 p.m. GMT

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In Death in the Nile JJ was fantastic. He played the part of a seemingly nice English gentleman. Then transformed into a cool headed killer, then into someone terrifed at being caught. All in the same acting roll. I am suprised that he is playing Mr Osborne, as Mr O is so much older. But I can't give any judegement on his, or anyone elses performance yet until Ive seen it

Bundle_ 23 Feb 10 at 8:27 p.m. GMT

I am not happy that MM is in TPH. And I am really confused and a little disappointed over the casting and who is playing who, especially as I am big on actors resembling characters.

And I'm not nor do I think I am his publicist but JJ was -- in your opinion, go leafs -- in one not so great movie: "Goal 3". Okay, so....? All actors have at one time or another been in a horrible movie and haven't acted to their best abilities. Because they are in one bad role, that can't surely make them a terrible actor. I mean, we all make mistakes.

And of course you are intitled to your opinion go leafs, and I do respect it, and I am not trying to change it but you keep mentioning how bad JJ was in Goal 3, and some people are going to think that he is a terrible actor and not appreciate what he could bring to the role of Osbourne.

go_leafs_nation 23 Feb 10 at 6:17 p.m. GMT

Yeah, I can just see Miss Marple joining in the chanting and ritual burning. She might've managed to squeak into The Pale Horse, if only as a replacement for Mrs. Oliver, but from the sound of it, that won't happen.

The series really has had problems with conveying the era realistically. I usually don't care that much about realism, but when characters from 1947 behave like people from 2007, that's when I draw a line. Miss Marple, as a faithful Anglican, probably wouldn't have been excellent friends with a Roman Catholic priest. A nodding acquaintance, or a dreadful-weather-yes-isn't-it sort of friend, maybe.

As for JJ Feild, his casting is what I'm very upset about. Yes, his casting is awful, and can Marple PLEASE find different actors from Poirot??? He's nothing like Mr. Osborne (I'm no stickler on physical resemblance, but they're turning a nearly-retired chemist into a young, vigorous person), and at best, he's a mediocre actor. I loved him in Death on the Nile, but after a succession of mediocre roles, my opinion of him fell, and completely disintegrated with Goal 3.

But if everyone recalls, I pointed out a while ago that Julia Mackenzie was signed on for three series, which puzzled me because, if the pattern the producers started continued, there was only enough material for two.

Still, I reserve judgment on The Pale Horse. I'm not denouncing it angrily, but the omens don't look very good so far.

MissQuin 23 Feb 10 at 4:51 p.m. GMT

Don't worry about it Tommy. But for a moment I thought I could have missed WDTAE without knowing it was on.

Tommy_A_Jones 23 Feb 10 at 4 p.m. GMT

I made a HUGE mistake Miss Quin sorry, My Stupid Brain read Murder Is Easy I don't know when Why Didn't They Ask Evans? will be on, fortunately both Why Didn't They Ask Evans and Pale Horse have been done before som we can see them done WITHOUT Miss Marple although I haven't seen Pale Horse and from wehat I have heard it was different but there was a Radio 4 version with Stephanie Cole as Miss Marple which also I haven't heard.

MissQuin 23 Feb 10 at 3:23 p.m. GMT

Ive not seen Why didn't they ask Evans? When will it be on in Britain?

I'm a little suprised that Miss Marple is good friends with a RC priest, seeing as she's Church Of England. There was a religious divide even in the 1950's.

They have made some changes to The Pale Horse story, adding some ritual burnings (!).  It seems there staying with the creepy, tense feel and hopefull not a camp soap. Who knows, it's a few years yet before it will be on TV.

Tommy_A_Jones 23 Feb 10 at 1:19 p.m. GMT

Apart from the speed of the Vicar's Death and the denoumant I didn't think Why Didn't They Ask Evans was as bad as some of tyhe previous Marples

AndThenThereWereToon 23 Feb 10 at 8:08 a.m. GMT

go_leafs_nation

...they'll have to try really hard to make this as bad a failure as Evans.

For goodness' sake, don't make it sound like a challenge!!

McGinty 23 Feb 10 at 7:31 a.m. GMT

go_leafs_nation

I can't take him seriously after Goal 3. To be honest, the story sounds kind of silly, but they'll have to try really hard to make this as bad a failure as Evans.

Goal 3 is one I skipped, but I still like him whether or not ! I have to hold my hand up and admit that I quite enjoyed 'Evans', it was certainly better than both Nemesis and Bertram's and compared to Sittaford it was a classic. I can't see Miss Marple in the Pale Horse, it's just not her situation. I'm beginning to wish they would just stop filming this series, so many opportunities have been wasted and now they seem to be clutching at straws. I think I'd sooner see a new version of Murder Ahoy !

go_leafs_nation 22 Feb 10 at 7:56 p.m. GMT

I can't take him seriously after Goal 3. To be honest, the story sounds kind of silly, but they'll have to try really hard to make this as bad a failure as Evans.

McGinty 22 Feb 10 at 7:52 p.m. GMT

Presumably because it's been turned into a Marple there will be no Ariadne Oliver ? Oh well, I'll reserve judgement until it's been broadcast. The one bright spot on the horizon is that JJ Field will be appearing in it.

jakob1978 22 Feb 10 at 5:49 p.m. GMT

As usual, digitalspy are just rehashing an official press release.  Here's the ITV press release

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/marplethepalehorse/default.html

Adapted by Russell Lewis (who is new to Agatha CHristie, but has done many mysteries before including a lot of Cadfael, Lewis, The Bill, an Inspector Morse (the Way through the Woods), The Last Detective)

Directed by Andy Hay (another Agatha newcomer)

cast includes - 

Neil Pearson (All the Small Things, Clapham Junction),

Pauline Collins (What we did on our Holiday, Upstairs Downstairs, Shirley Valentine),

Sarah Alexander (Stardust, Green Wing, Coupling),

Holly Valance (Prison Break, Entourage, Taken),

Nicholas Parsons OBE (Sale of the Century), JJ Feild (Northanger Abbey, The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton),

Lynda Baron (Rome, Colour Me Kubrick, Open All Hours),

Nigel Planer (The Colour of Magic, The Young Ones),

Bill Paterson (The Forgotten Fallen, Law & Order UK),

Jason Merrells (Waterloo Road, Cutting It),

Susan Lynch (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Nora),

Elizabeth Rider (George Gently, The Street),

Jonathan Cake (Fallen, The Swap),

Amy Manson (Desperate Romantics, Being Human),

Tom Ward (Silent Witness),

Jenny Galloway (Charles II; The Power and the Passion),

with a cameo appearance by Holly Willoughby (This Morning, Dancing on Ice).

MissQuin 22 Feb 10 at 5:03 p.m. GMT

I almost choked reading this!!  I find Holly Willoughby one of the most shallow, loud, rude and most annoying people on British TV! Sorry to any Holly fans, but thats how I feel. In fairness I don't know what her acting skills are like, I wont judge her by those until I see her in the Pale Horse.

Goody Carne?! Another made up character, as well as this Kanga!! If the rumours true..