Today on Poirot! 203 The Lost Mine (1990)

Title: Poirot: 203 The Lost Mine (1990)
Airdate and time AU: Monday 6 April 2009 at 1230pm
Original airdate UK: 21 January 1990
Network AU: ABC1
Network UK: ITV

Synopsis: Poirot and Hastings are discussing investments and Poirot informs Hastings that he has no thing of that kind except for fourteen thousand shares in Burma Mines Ltd which were given to him as a gift for services rendered. He offers to tell the story of what service he provided and Hastings gladly listens. The mines in question were originally silver mines, discovered by the Chinese in the fifteenth century. The silver was all worked out but plenty of lead remained, not considered being of value at the time but definitely worthy of exploitation at the time of the story. The mine itself was lost, the only clue to its location being old papers in the hands of a Chinese family. The head of the family, Wu Ling, agreed to negotiate a sale of the papers and travelled to England to complete the transaction. Wu Ling was supposed to be met by one of the syndicate company directors, Mr. Pearson, in Southampton but his train there was delayed with the result that Wu Ling made his own way to London where he booked into the Hotel Russell Square and telephoned the company to say that he would see them the next day. He failed to appear at the meeting and the hotel was contacted.

Cast: David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, Hugh Fraser as Captain Arthur Hastings, Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp, Pauline Moran as Miss Felicity Lemon

Guest cast: Richard Albrecht as Lobby Clerk, Barbara Barnes as Mrs Lester, Peter Barnes as Wilkins, Anthony Bate as Lord Pearson, Hi Ching as Chow Feng, Gloria Connell as Miss Devenish, John Cording as Sergeant Jameson, James Saxon as Reggie Dyer, Colin Stinton as Charles Lester.