After 22 years and 65 films, the brilliant David Suchet is allowed to feel a bit ‘gutted’ at the thought of bringing Hercule Poirot to completion. With the upcoming production of the final five adaptations of the remaining Poirot novels, Suchet will have played the infamous Belgian detective in every Agatha Christie story every written for Poirot. Gutted, maybe, but incredibly proud of his association with the character, which begin almost a quarter of a century ago in 1989.

“I’m more than delighted to be reprising my role as Poirot. It’s been my life’s ambition to bring this amazing canon of works to completion. Poirot is a brilliant, yet profoundly complicated character and I’ve always loved playing him. He’s considerate, with a love of elegance and precision, but he is also so maddeningly frustrating to play as he’s so vain and pedantic! For all his faults he is one of the greatest listeners in literature. I’ve been so fortunate to play him.”

Filming will begin in October of this year on the final five installments, Curtain, Labours of Hercules, Dead Man’s Folly, The Big Four and Elephants Can Remember following Suchet’s current leading role in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night in London’s West End. Interestingly, Curtain, is the detective’s last tale and will see him return to the scene of his first case in a bid to prevent another murder.

Suchet told the BBC after the opening night at the Apollo Theatre, “I’m excited, I will feel as though I have achieved a dream, but I’ll also be gutted, because I will be saying a real farewell and a goodbye [to Poirot] and then I will have to bury him.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t make it any easier for David Suchet, but Poirot fans will be gutted as well.