Editing Agatha Christie's Poirot (section)

== ''Being Poirot'' ==
[[File:2011-07-26 Belgique - Ellezelles - Hercule Poirot 002.jpg|thumb|A statuette of Hercule Poirot in [[Ellezelles]], [[Belgium]]]]
'''''Being Poirot''''' is a 50-minute 2013 ITV television documentary in which David Suchet attempts to unravel the mysterious appeal of Hercule Poirot and how he portrayed him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX3ITew9Mpw|title=Being Poirot|last=kokopico|date=2 December 2014|access-date=28 April 2018|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112042318/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX3ITew9Mpw|archive-date=12 January 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on the same evening as the final episode, "Curtain".

Suchet visits the Greenway Estate, Agatha Christie's summer home, recollecting how he met her daughter Rosalind Hicks and her husband Anthony Hicks for their approval before he began filming. He meets Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard who recounts how his grandmother found the character amongst Belgian refugees in Torquay. There's a visit to the permanent Poirot exhibition at Torquay Museum, to which he presented the cane he used in the television series.

Suchet acknowledges the first stage and film adaptations of the books with actors such as [[Charles Laughton]] on the London stage in ''Alibi'', an adaptation of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', in 1928. ''Alibi'' was filmed in 1931 with Austin Trevor but is now lost. The oldest surviving film portrayal from 1934 was ''Lord Edgware Dies'' again with Austin Trevor portraying Poirot. Suchet notes a conscious decision was made by the film company to portray Poirot without a moustache.

Films featuring [[Albert Finney]] and [[Peter Ustinov]] are also featured. Suchet reveals that he read the books and wrote down 93 notes about the character that he went on to use in his portrayal. The descriptions in the books helped him discover the voice he would use, and the rapid mincing gait.

Suchet also goes to Florin Court, a place that the production company chose to represent his home Whitehaven Mansions. There he meets first producer Brian Eastman, with whom he discusses the set that was built based on the flats, and Eastman's decision to fix the stories in 1936. Suchet also visits composer [[Christopher Gunning]] who had composed four themes for Eastman, the first being Gunning's favourite. Eastman chose the fourth after having Gunning darken the tone.

Suchet travels to [[Brussels]], where he is feted by the police chief and mayor. He then goes to [[Ellezelles]], which claims to be the birthplace of Poirot, and he is shown a birth certificate as proof. It says the date was 1 April, "[[April Fools' Day]]", with no year mentioned. Finally, Suchet travels on the Orient Express and recounts filming the episode "Dead Man's Folly" last at Greenway to finish on a high note.