THE TITLE may have changed at least twice since its original publication but Agatha Christie’s novel is one of the all-time classic whodunnits.

An irresistible premise has 10 strangers invited to a creepy house on a remote island where they are killed one by one

Is the murderer their unseen host, obsessed with dark deeds his guests may have carried out in the past, or is it one of the guests themselves?

The novel has been staged by thousands of theatre groups from star-studded professional companies to the tiniest amateur groups; it was turned into a classic film; and the story has been stolen countless times by other writers.

On stage this is a tight, tense, claustrophobic piece of suspense, punctuated by the occasional audience chuckle when another guest bites the dust, played out in less than two hours.

So the BBC’s decision to stretch the story out over three nights last Christmas was a bit of a gamble, risking the tension seeping away between episodes.

But no: this gave screenwriter Sarah Phelps the chance to explore the characters and the dark deeds that brought each of them to the island for a date with retribution.

There’s lots of atmosphere, lots of anguish and guilty consciences, but never at the expense of the tension – the story remains riveting to the clever finale.

David Knights