Edward Bluemel Is BBC’s New Hercule Poirot – Here’s Where You Know Him From

It’s official: the BBC is working hard on a new, six-part Hercule series, starring Edward Bluemel as a younger version of the storied detective. Penned by Benji Walters and simply titled Hercule, filming is set to get underway in Liverpool this summer. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about our new Poirot – plus where you recognise him from.

Edward Bluemel is set to take the role of Hercule Poirot in the BBC’s upcoming series. (BBC/Mammoth Screen/BritBox/Jonathan Ford)

Who Is Edward Bluemel?

Bluemel is a 33-year-old British star known for roles across the BBC, Netflix and Sky. Born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Bluemel attended co-ed public school Taunton School in Somerset, where his parents also taught.

His passion for acting was sparked at age 11, and at age 17 he decided to pursue it professionally, taking a year-long foundation course at RADA (London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) before studying for a BA in Acting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, graduating in 2015.

Garnering small roles across television, short film and film, Bluemel’s first ‘break’ came in 2017 when he made his West End debut in Love In Idleness at the Apollo Theatre, his feature film debut in Access All Areas, and his first major television role as Toby Hamilton in ITV’s The Halcyon. These roles, however, are probably not why you recognise our soon-to-be Poirot.

Emily Bader as Lady Jane Grey and Edward Bluemel as Guildford Dudley in My Lady Jane. (Prime Video)

Why Do I Recognise Him?

After that first break came a bigger break, with a main role in Sky’s fantasy series, A Discovery of Witches, based on Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy. Led by Matthew Goode as vampire biochemist Matthew Clairmont and Teresa Palmer as witch/academic alchemist, from 2018–22 Bluemel starred as Marcus Whitmore, Matthew’s son and lab colleague.

Then came a series of smaller roles in high-profile projects: in 2019, Bluemel made his debut as Hugo Turner in BBC America’s hit spy thriller Killing Eve, starring from series 2 onwards, working as part of Eve’s (Sandra Oh) team in MI6. At the same time, he played Maeve’s manipulative brother Sean Wiley in Netflix’s hit comedy Sex Education.

Mia McKenna Bruce & Edward Bluemel in Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials. (© Netflix)

Then came his costume drama era, with roles as Captain Harville in Netflix’s 2022 version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, as Dr Stephen Ellerby in MGM+’s Belgravia: The Next Chapter (2024), as Lord Guildford Dudley in Prime Video’s swashbuckling historical fantasy romance My Lady Jane (2024), and most recently as Jimmy Thesiger in another Agatha Christie adaptation, Netflix’s Seven Dials. On stage in 2025, Bluemel donned his doublet and trunk hose to play William Shakespeare in the RSC’s production of Born With Teeth at Wyndham’s Theatre opposite Sex Education co-star Ncuti Gatwa.

Back in modern dress, you might also know Bluemel’s face from British comedy We Might Regret This, which traces the love story between Canadian tetraplegic woman Freya (Kyla Harris) and British lawyer and silver fox Abe (Darren Boyd); Bluemel stars as Levi, Abe’s son from his ex-wife Jane (Sally Phillips).

Levi (EDWARD BLUEMEL & Jane (SALLY PHILLIPS) in We Might Regret This. (© BBC/Roughcut)

Edward Bluemel Is Hercule Poirot

The BBC is officially working on a Poirot reboot, breathing fresh life into Agatha Christie’s best-loved detective. Best known for cracking complex cases in Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Death on the Nile, Poirot is known for his lilting Belgian accent, eccentric moustache and clever detective work – despite being a retired detective.

If you think 33-year-old Bluemel seems a little young for the role, that’s because Hercule will delve into the sleuth’s early years, drawing on some of Christie’s many Poirot novels and short stories to paint a new picture of his earlier work.

Whether Bluemel will be working with an accent coach to emulate Poirot’s signature Belgian lilt is still to be determined. But we do know the star is interested in keeping at least one facet of Poirot consistent: his signature moustache. (Swipe to the last slide of the star’s recent Instagram post below.)

 

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With filming slated to commence in Liverpool this summer, here’s everything we know so far.