DAVID SUCHET ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

I watched David Suchet take a trip on the Orient Express last night.

This program was screened in the USA back in July, but we have had to wait until now because it is an appetizer for the Murder on the Orient Express film starring David Suchet to be screened by ITV1 at 9.00 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Some of the scenery as the train travelled south from Calais to Paris, Innsbruck and Venice, and then back north to Prague was magnificent. The service seemed impeccable and the food on the train looked superb. The 1920s luxury of the carriages appeared a tempting holiday option for someone approaching important milestones in their life, but having investigated the cost and the fact that the train accommodation lacks en suite facilities I have decided that perhaps this is not for me.

But it was an absolutely fascinating program, and David Suchet, was a charming host, who frequently bubbled over with genuine enthusiasm during the trip. Especially when they let him drive the train!

There have been some brilliant depictions of fictional detectives over the past 30 years on British television, for instance as John Thaw as Morse, Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, and Warren Clarke as Andy Dalziel, but David Suchet actually becomes Hercule Poirot.

As my late mother- in- law would say "I like a good murder, when is Piro on."