Agatha Christie To Teach You Mystery Writing
- Editor OGN Daily
- May 6
- 1 min read
BBC Studios has created a deepfake version of renowned mystery author Agatha Christie to teach a BBC Maestro course.
This isn’t the first time that a deceased celebrity has been resurrected for a performance through the powers of artificial intelligence, but it is believed to be the first time it’s been done for education purposes, rather than just for entertainment. If the course is a success, it may launch a new form of learning - one that curates and condenses a person’s writing, interviews, interview appearances, etc., into one interactive class.
BBC Studios worked with Christie’s estate, Agatha Christie Limited, to build the mystery-writing course, using her writing, old photographs, and the few existing recordings of her, and the new BBC Maestro course will walk students through her writing techniques and an overview of her work.
The production recruited actress Vivien Keene to play Christie, with her voice and appearance changed by AI to make her seem like the legendary author. Keene told Deadline that she was cast because of the shape of her face. More intriguingly, perhaps, is that she had to play the role while “barely moving her face,” since the side of Christie’s head had never been recorded before.
The news was unveiled at a swanky event at London’s Claridge’s hotel this week in the presence of Christie’s great grandson James Prichard, who runs Agatha Christie Ltd, along with a host of top talent and BBC execs.
