McKenzie was pictured on set wearing Miss Marple's trademark tweeds during filming of ITV1's Murder Is Easy in Blewbury, Oxfordshire.
Murder Is Easy sees Miss Marple investigate a series of murders in the hitherto peaceful village of Wychwood-under-Ashe, aided by handsome former policeman Luke Fitzwilliam (Benedict Cumberbatch).
The two-hour film, to be broadcast later this year, also co-stars Sylvia Syms and Jemma Redgrave.
McKenzie, 67, is perhaps best known to television viewers for the 1980s sitcom Fresh Fields and is an acclaimed stage actress, winning an Olivier award for her performance as Mrs Lovett in the National Theatre production of Sweeney Todd.
She has said of her latest role: "I'm very excited but also slightly daunted by the enormous responsibility that comes with taking on such an iconic role. Just about everybody in the world knows about Miss Marple and has an opinion of what she should be like. So I'm under no illusions about the size of the task ahead. And I suppose I'll have to remind myself how to knit."
Mathew Prichard, grandson of Agatha Christie and chairman of the company which owns the rights to her work, said: "I can imagine Julia McKenzie playing Miss Marple with exactly the right balance of sympathy and intelligence, and I confidently predict that she will become a Miss Marple to rank with the very best."
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Miss Marple: MURDER IS EASY…
JULIA McKENZIE is once again joined by a stellar cast for MURDER IS EASY, the second two hour film in the new series of Agatha Christie’s Marple for ITV1.
The cast includes BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH (Atonement, Stuart: A Life Backwards), SHIRLEY HENDERSON (Harry Potter, Dirty Filthy Love), ANNA CHANCELLOR (Spooks, Tipping The Velvet), HUGO SPEER (Bleak House, The Full Monty), JEMMA REDGRAVE (Cold Blood, Mansfield Park), STEVE PEMBERTON (Benidorm, The League of Gentlemen), JAMES LANCE (Moving Wallpaper, Teachers), MARGO STILLEY (9 Songs, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People), SYLVIA SYMS (The Queen), DAVID HAIG (My Boy Jack, Dickens’ Secret Lover), RUSSELL TOVEY (Gavin & Stacey, The History Boys), TIM BROOKE TAYLOR (I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again, The Goodies), LYNDSEY MARSHAL (Rome) and CAMILLA ARFWEDSON (Sex, The City & Me).
During a chance encounter on a train, the elderly Miss Pinkerton (Syms) confides in Miss Marple that she is about to report a murderer who has already struck several times in the peaceful village of Wychwood-under-Ashe. When Miss Marple reads that Miss Pinkerton died in a tragic accident before making her report, she determines that it is now up to her to find out who the killer is.
Charming her way into village life, Miss Marple is befriended by Luke Fitzwilliam (Cumberbatch), a handsome former policeman who is increasingly drawn to the mysterious and beautiful young American Bridget Conway (Stilley). But when the sudden deaths of the belligerent local GP, Dr Humbleby (Brooke Taylor) and the maid of Honoria Waynflete (Henderson) leaves Reverend Wake (Pemberton) busy with funeral services, Luke finds himself becoming Miss Marple’s confidante and ally in the search for the truth.
It’s not long before the bereaved Jessie Humbleby (Redgrave) loses her grip on reality. Meanwhile, a local General Election gathers pace as its two opponents pit their wits against one another. The nervous Constable Reed (Tovey) steps in, turning to Miss Marple for guidance in the murky waters of his first murder case. At last, Miss Marple prepares to reveal a secret so shocking the village will never be the same again…
