Partners in Crime (UK TV series) commissioned by Ben Stephenson and Charlotte Moore for the BBC to mark the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth. The adaptation was produced by Endor Productions in partnership with Agatha Christie Productions. David Walliams and Hilary Strong (Agatha Christie Group) approached Hilary Bevan Jones and Tom Nash (development producer) of Endor Productions with the idea of re-inventing the Agatha Christie characters Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Walliams liked the idea of a married amateur detective duo bickering over a dead body. Agatha Christie wrote stories featuring the Beresfords between 1922 and 1973, depicting Tommy and Tuppence from before they were married
Copyright protection for fictional characters faire" doctrine holds that those scenes or aspects that are indispensable to the story or are standard expressions cannot be copyrighted. This limitation also applies to fictional characters. Therefore, stock characters or archetypical and hackneyed elements are disqualified from protection by virtue of the fact that they are not unique in their expression. In cases of copyright infringement of a fictional character, a two-step test developed by the American Courts has to be satisfied. Firstly, it must be established that the character in question is capable of being copyrighted. Secondly, it must be demonstrated that there has been an infringement