Hannah Waddingham is no stranger to taking on killer roles – if you’ve been wowed by her recent performance as a secret assassin in Prime Video’s Ride Or Die, you’ll be delighted to know you can watch her play another glamorous murderer in the BBC series Partners In Crime, which first aired more than a decade ago. The Agatha Christie adaptation introduces us to Tommy (David Walliams) and Tuppence (Call the Midwife’s Jessica Raine), who are married beekeepers turned international Cold War spy agents.
But, how does an ordinary couple get caught up in spying on Russians? Well, while they’re travelling back from France, transporting an expensive queen bee, a woman called Jane Finn (Camilla Marie Beeput) vanishes – and Tuppence takes it upon herself to find her, to the dismay of the nervous Tommy. Soon, they’re caught up in an international conspiracy, with tense chases, shocking cliffhangers and all the charm you’d expect from an Agatha Christie adaptation. It’s an exceptional detective drama that you’ll want to watch this week.
With the series available to stream now, here’s everything you need to know about Partners In Crime, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What’s Partners In Crime about?
The six-part series, which first aired on BBC One in 2015, transports us to 1950s Britain, when the country is reeling from the aftermath of the Blitz and in the grip of a new crisis – The Cold War. Based on Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence stories, we meet Tommy (David Walliams) and Tuppence (Jessica Raine), a very ordinary couple who enjoy a quiet life in the country.
Their uneventful existence soon unfurls into adventure – they end up falling into the world of espionage after a chance encounter on a train. The duo are somewhat different in their methods – Tuppence, a mystery fanatic, is adventurous and throws herself headfirst into the exciting missions, whereas Tommy is a lot more cautious. Their dynamic is not only hilarious, but extremely relatable, as they bicker their way through the twists and turns of their new unexpected calling.
The series is split into two three-part stories. The first is called The Secret Adversary and follows the couple’s search for the missing Jane Finn, and a secret recording that could help identify a Soviet hitman. In the second part, N or M?, the duo must identify which person in a guesthouse in a military base in Cromer has stolen a nuclear bomb. In the second half, Hannah Waddingham stars as a chilling antagonist known as Blonde Assassin – and she’s every bit as enchanting as in her recent killer role in Ride Or Die.
Who’s in the cast of Partners In Crime?
The cast of Partners in Crime includes:
- David Walliams (Gangsta Granny, Little Britain) as Tommy Beresford
- Jessica Raine (Call The Midwife, Two Weeks In August) as Tuppence Beresford
- James Fleet (The Vicar Of Dibley) as Major Anthony Carter
- Matthew Steer (Hamlet) as Albert Pemberton
- Clarke Peters (The Boroughs) as Julius Hersheimmer
- Alice Krige (Sleepwalkers) as Rita Vandemeyer
- Paul Brennen (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries) as Lucky
- Jonny Phillips (Titanic) as Whittington
- Andrew Havill (Einstein And The Bomb) as James Peel
- Camilla Marie Beeput (Save Me, Bergerac, The Suspect) as Jane Finn
- Ed Speleers (Irish Wish) as Carl Denim
- Roy Marsden (Unnatural Causes) as Commander Haydock
- Alyy Khan (The Trial) as Major Kahn
- Danny Lee Wynter (Luther) as Gilbert Worthing
- Christina Cole (Suits) as Mrs Sprot
- Aoife McMahon (Random Passage) as Sheila Perenna
- Pinar Ögün (Keeping Faith) as Veronika Urbanowicz
- Robert Hands (Noughts + Crosses) as Mr Minton
- Issy van Randwyck (The Danish Girl) as Mrs Minton
- Tam Williams (The Trench) as Harrison
- Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso, Ride Or Die) as Blonde Assassin
Is Partners In Crime any good?
Yes – if you’re into cosy murder mysteries and Agatha Christie spin-offs, such as Agatha Raisin and Poirot, you’re going to want to tune into this charming drama. We especially enjoyed Jessica Raine’s portrayal of Tuppence – the anti-damsel-in-distress who must keep her bumbling husband in check!
Is there a trailer for Partners In Crime?
Yes – you can watch the trailer for Partners in Crime below.
How can I watch Partners In Crime?
You can watch Partners In Crime now on BBC iPlayer and Acorn TV via Prime Video.
What other detective dramas can I watch now?
If you’re in the mood for something equally as cosy, we’d recommend Mrs Sidhu Investigates, the Channel 4 series in which we meet high-end-caterer-turned-local-sleuth Mrs Sidhu (Meera Syal), who unravels a series of mysteries in her local town. You can watch Mrs Sidhu Investigates on Channel 4. If you’re after another comfort watch, we’d recommend Ashley Jensen’s portrayal of an amateur sleuth in Agatha Raisin. The crime series is based on MC Beaton novels and stars Ashley as a PR executive who’s just moved to the Cotswolds. But the bucolic dream is interrupted when she finds herself a suspect in a murder case, meaning she must solve the mystery herself to clear her name. You can watch Agatha Raisin now on Acorn TV via Prime Video
