NewsThe BBC deepfaked Agatha Christie to teach a writing courseThe crime fiction author doesn’t know it, but she’s now a teacher on the internet.The crime fiction author doesn’t know it, but she’s now a teacher on the internet.by Umar ShakirApr 30, 2025, 8:41 PM UTCLinkFacebookThreadsImage: BBCUmar Shakir is a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge.BBC Studios is using AI to recreate the voice and likeness of late detective story author Agatha Christie for the purpose of featuring it in digital classes that teaches prospective writers “how to craft the perfect crime novel.” A real life actor, Vivien Keene, is standing in for Christie, with her appearance augmented by AI to resemble the author. The new class, called Agatha Christie Writing, is available today on BBC Maestro, the company’s $10-per-month online course service that usually gives you access to content from living professionals teaching things like graphic design, bread making, time management, and more.Deepfaked Agatha Christie’s teachings are “in Agatha’s very own words,” her great-grandson James Prichard said in a press release. It uses insights from the real Christie and is scripted by academics — so the actual content appears to be human-made and not generated from a model that’s been fed all of her work. BBC collaborated with Agatha Christie Estate and used restored audio recordings, licensed images, interviews, and her own writings to make this all happen.Live now, the class has 11 video lessons with 12 exercises for prospective writing students, including how to “structure an airtight plot” and “build suspense.”See More: AIBooksEntertainmentNewsTechTV ShowsMost PopularMost PopularAmazon has no choice but to display tariffs on prices nowSlate Auto confirms where it’ll build its $20,000 TruckNew Starlink subscription drops hardware price to $0Duolingo will replace contract workers with AIDonald Trump might actually believe these Calibri labels are real MS-13 tattoosInstallerA weekly newsletter by David Pierce designed to tell you everything you need to download, watch, read, listen to, and explore that fits in The Verge’s universe.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad