Major Barnes

Major Barnes was a non-canonical character who was created for the film adaptation of Triangle at Rhodes in Season 1 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot. Although he pretended to be an ordinary Englishman on holiday who often went fishing, Poirot surmised quite early on that he was actually a British intelligence agent. He was studying the military defences which the Italians were building on the island. Barnes assisted Poirot in his investigation of the death of Valentine Chantry. He connected Poirot to a friend of his who was the forensic officer who had analysed the type of poison used. Barnes also used his fishing boat to pursue the murderers who were trying to escape to Turkey.

At the end of the episode, Poirot teased Barnes that perhaps he would be going to Abyssinia next (Abyssinia was also a territory occupied by Italy at that time). When Barnes appeared shocked, Poirot quickly added that he just thought Barnes would like to take part in the ostrich hunting season.

Barnes was played in the film by Timothy Kightley. This character does not occur in the original story. There is a different character named General Barnes.