Poirot actor David Suchet is to embark on a journey across Europe on the Orient Express, the train immortalised by Agatha Christie, for a new ITV1 documentary. The 60-minute programme, provisionally entitled David Suchet on the Orient Express, will feature the actor "immersing himself in the glamour, romance, history and escapism" of the famous train, the setting for Christie's novel Murder On the Orient Express. David Suchet on the Orient Express will touch on the incident in 1929 that inspired Christie's book: the train was stuck in a snowdrift for 10 days, 60 miles outside Istanbul, carrying a full complement of passengers who survived only with the assistance of nearby Turkish villagers. The film, which is being made by ITV Studios, will use archive material to tell the train's history from its inaugural "Express d'Orient" journey across Europe in 1883 to its role in both world wars. It begins with Suchet boarding the train at London's Victoria station and follows him through Venice and Prague. "Making this film gives me a thrilling opportunity to delve into the fascinating story of one of the most iconic journeys in European travel," Suchet said. "The train and the route it takes are steeped in culture and history and I look forward to giving viewers an insight into a unique experience and revealing some of the tales and secrets from its past." David Suchet on the Orient Express was commissioned by the ITV director of factual and daytime, Alison Sharman, the controller of popular factual, Jo Clinton-Davis, and the commissioning editor of factual, Diana Howie. The programme is the latest in a list of celebrity travel programmes on ITV, including Martin Clunes's recent Islands of Britain and Billy Connolly's Journey to the Edge of the World.
