For many people, their main contact with detective fiction is via film and television adaptations. For a huge global audience, Agatha Christie's work is as often watched as it is read. Any new production is greeted with intense scrutiny, so what is it really like to adapt these stories? Screenwriter Sarah Phelps, the woman behind the recent BBC versions of And Then There Were None, Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence and now The ABC Murders, explains.

Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/adaptations. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.

Contributors: —Sarah Phelps, who is on Twitter as @PhelpsieSarah.

Books and stories mentioned in order of appearance: —The 1928 film "The Passing of Mr Quin" is based on the short story "The Coming of Mr. Quin", which part of the Agatha Christie collection The Mysterious Mr. Quin —And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie —"Witness for the Prosecution" by Agatha Christie —Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie —The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie —The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie —Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie —Agatha Christie on Screen by Mark Aldridge

Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/adaptationstranscript