Julia McKenzie in Agatha Christie's Marple - Murder Is Easy

Julia McKenzie starred in Murder Is Easy, the second of the three new Agatha Christie's Marple. It was screened at 8pm on Sunday 13th September 2009 on ITV1 in the UK.

The cast included Anna Chancellor, Jemma Redgrave, Sylvia Syms, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margo Stilley and Russell Tovey.

Miss Marple had been written into the original plot which did not include her. After the arrival of beautiful young American Bridget Conway, several inhabitants of the village of Wychwood-under-Ashe die unexpectedly. No-one suspects that a killer is at work, but as the deaths continue Miss Marple joins forces with Luke Fitzwilliam to investigate.

Margo Stilley, who played Bridget Conway, contented herself with brass rubbings for this role, a prim alternative to a previous outing on screen. Indeed, when she thought she was about to be be kissed she soon hopped off.

Murder Is Easy was a significant improvement to the chaotic Julia McKenzie première the previous week, A Pocketful of Rye. Stephen Churchett seems to have finally got the hang of scriptwriting and was allowed to appear as the coroner, his second outing in this role in one of his Miss Marple scripts.