Written and directed by Hugh Laurie, this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s coastal mystery has it all: tight dialogue, a starry cast and exquisite 1930s nostalgia
The first of many good jokes in Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (the first of a three-parter airing on consecutive nights) is a scuffed tee shot. A few lines of beautifully economical dialogue establish that the golfer in question, playing with the sea behind him on a gorgeous Welsh links course, regularly disdains the wise counsel of his younger, fitter caddie, to the gentle amusement of them both. After he has insisted on using his driver (“Are you sure, sir?”), the way the ball grubs pathetically along the ground is just right. Everything in this three-part period whodunnit – originally shown last year on BritBox – is just right.
But the golf round is soon interrupted by a cry from the bottom of the nearby cliff. The caddie, Bobby (Will Poulter), scrambles down and finds a man, broken and dying, who utters the phrase that gives the story its title before his eyes become finally glassy and still. Bobby checks the corpse for clues, coming across a photograph of a beautiful but distressed woman, and is then joined (rather suddenly, given the remoteness of this part of the shore) by a friendly chap named Roger Bassington-ffrench (Daniel Ings) – “Two small Fs, don’t ask me what they stand for”. He offers to wait with the body until the police arrive, but is not seen again afterwards.
The first episode of Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? aired on ITV and is now available on ITVX. Episodes two and three will be available on ITVX on Sunday, and air on Monday and Tuesday.
