As Frankie and Bobby investigate a suspicious death in their neighborhood and attempt to solve the mystery, they never imagined that they would be putting their own lives on the line. A series by Hugh Laurie, starring Will Poulter, Lucy Boynton, Maeve Dermody, Conleth Hill, Daniel Ings, Jonathan Jules, Alistair Petrie, Nicholas Asbury, Morwenna Banks, Patrick Barlow, Emma Thompson, and Jim Broadbent.

In 1936, while playing golf with Dr. Alwyn Thomas (Conleth Hill) in the Welsh seaside town of Marchbolt, Bobby Jones (Will Poulter) hears a horrified scream coming from the nearby cliff. He rushes to the cliff edge and looks over, spotting a man lying on the rocks below, presumably having fallen from the cliff.

Bobby quickly descends the cliff to aid the man, who is still breathing. Dr. Thomas instructs Bobby to keep the man warm while he seeks help. The man briefly regains consciousness, grabs Bobby’s wrist, and utters his final words: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” Puzzled, Bobby searches the man’s pockets, discovering a photograph of a beautiful woman, a fountain pen, and a key with a fish keychain.

While Dr. Thomas is away seeking help, a stranger approaches Bobby and asks about the situation. Bobby explains the accident and inquires whether the stranger has seen anyone, assuming Dr. Thomas must have crossed paths with him. The stranger, who introduces himself as Roger Bassington-ffrench (Daniel Ings), claims he hasn’t seen anyone and is merely passing through while house-hunting in Marchbolt. When the church bells toll, Bobby suddenly remembers he’s due to play the organ for his father, Reverend Richard Jones (Alistair Petrie). He asks Roger to stay with the body until Dr. Thomas returns, which Roger agrees to do.

After the church service, Bobby spots a beautiful young woman. Curious, he asks his father who she is. Richard replies that she is Lady Frances Derwent (Lucy Boynton). Bobby suddenly realizes she is Frankie, his childhood friend whom he hasn’t seen since she was twelve and moved to London.

Later that evening, Bobby argues with his father following a phone call his father received from Bobby’s friend Ralph “Knocker” Beadon (Jonathan Jules). His father disapproves of the £120 that Bobby insists he promised Knocker for their joint investment in a used car business. That night, Bobby has nightmares about the beautiful woman from the photograph he found in the dead man’s coat pocket.

The next day, Frankie visits the golf course where Bobby works as a caddy. She asks the owner, Albert (Martyn Ellis) about playing a round of golf. Though Albert informs her the course is temporarily closed due to the incident, he agrees to sell her a round and provide a caddy after her insistence.

Frankie, who has no real interest in golf, is more curious about the dead man Bobby found yesterday. Bobby recounts the incident and tells her about the cryptic last words, though neither of them can make sense of their meaning. Bobby dismisses the phrase, suggesting it probably meant nothing since the man was dying and likely delirious. From Frankie, who has read the newspaper, Bobby learns that the dead man was Alex Pritchard (Leon Ockenden), identified through a photograph of his sister, Amelia Cayman (Morwenna Banks), which he had been carrying. The newspaper reports that Mrs. Cayman traveled from Paddington to Marchbolt to identify the body, with an inquest scheduled for tomorrow.

At the inquest, Bobby notices a mysterious man who keeps watching him. He is surprised when Alex’s sister appears in court, as she is much older and bears no resemblance to the beautiful woman in the photograph.

Later, Bobby receives an unexpected visit from Amelia and her husband Leo Cayman (Richard Dixon). They ask if Alex spoke or left any messages before he died. Bobby tells them about Alex’s last words: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” However, both Amelia and Leo seem puzzled by this, claiming they don’t know what it means or anyone named Evans.

Bobby begins experiencing a series of strange events. First, he receives a mysterious job offer from Henriquez Dallo Imports and Customs Brokerage in Buenos Aires, promising £1,000 per year. His decision to decline the offer, insisting that he made Knocker a promise to be his business partner, upsets his father.

Later, Bobby is hospitalized after drinking beer poisoned with morphia. While recovering, he discovers from the newspaper that the photograph found in Alex’s pocket differs from the one he saw on the day Alex died.

Morphia is a former name for morphine, a potent opiate analgesic drug. It is an alkaloid narcotic extracted from opium and is used to relieve pain. Morphine acts directly on the central nervous system to induce analgesia and alter the perception of pain. If a person drinks morphine, they may experience various side effects, ranging from typical reactions at a normal dose to severe and potentially fatal consequences in the case of an overdose.

Dr. Thomas visits Bobby at the hospital and reveals his concerns that someone is targeting Bobby. After looking into Henriquez Dallo, he discovered the company doesn’t exist. It seems someone wants Bobby out of Marchbolt, and when the fake job offer failed, they attempted to kill him. Later, Bobby is shocked to find Dr. Thomas has apparently hanged himself. However, Bobby is convinced it wasn’t suicide but murder staged to look like one.

Bobby suspects Roger Bassington-ffrench switched the photograph after being left alone with Alex’s body, though his motives remain unclear. He joins forces with Frankie, Knocker, and Frankie’s friend Dr. George Arbuthnot (Joshua James) to track down Roger Bassington-ffrench, the mysterious man who claimed to be house-hunting in Marchbolt. Their plan involves deliberately crashing a car into the gates of Maraway Court, the Bassington-ffrench family residence. Frankie then pretends to be an injured victim so she can be taken into the house to investigate Roger’s true reason for being in Marchbolt.

Written and directed by English actor Hugh Laurie, WHY DIDN’T THEY ASK EVANS? is a three-part series based on Agatha Christie’s detective novel of the same name. The novel was first published in the UK in September 1934 by the Collins Crime Club.

WHY DIDN’T THEY ASK EVANS? is a captivating whodunit featuring stellar performances by Will Poulter and Lucy Boynton as Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent. Unlike typical Agatha Christie adaptations centered on Marple or Poirot, this series follows two amateur detectives investigating a dying man’s cryptic last words. As they pursue the truth, they become entangled in an intricate web of deception and mystery.

Unlike typical BBC Agatha Christie adaptations, WHY DIDN’T THEY ASK EVANS? offers a fresh and entertaining take on the genre. The series shines through its witty dialogue and romantic comedy elements, particularly in the unspoken attraction between Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent, whose chemistry adds charm to this compelling mystery.

WHY DIDN’T THEY ASK EVANS? was first broadcast by BritBox on 9-12 April 2022. The three-part series was later made available on ITVX and ITV in April 2023.

BritBox is a British over-the-top video on demand streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV1. It operates in eight countries across Australia, Europe, North America, and South Africa1. BritBox offers British television series and films, including current and past series, as well as films supplied by Britain’s major terrestrial broadcasters the BBC and ITV1. BritBox is geared more towards shows that have long since been removed from ITVX or BBC iPlayer, or aren’t available to buy on DVD2. Examples of shows available on BritBox include Happy Valley, The Office, Fawlty Towers, Cold Feet, and classic Doctor Who.