Nanny Taylor

Nanny Taylor is a non-canonical character created for the 2008 ITV adaption of Appointment with Death. She is some kind of governess employed by Lady Boynton and who accompanies her on her tour to the archaeological excavation at Ain Musa. Nanny Taylor is portrayed by Angela Pleasence.

As a character, Nanny Taylor is seen mostly in flashback, in scenes where she is carrying out Lady Boynton's orders to punish her children, usually by beating them or dunking them into bathwater. During the events in the show she does express some remorse and insisted that she had no choice but to carry out Lady Boynton's orders. Whatever her own views of Lady Boynton, Nanny Taylor becomes extremely distraught when her employer is murdered, for reasons which are never fully explained.

Later, Nanny Taylor is involved in a sideplot which is actually her main role in the events. While distraught and sedated in bed, she calls Dr Gerard "father". Gerard replies that he is not her father but only the doctor. But Poirot later surmises that the Nanny had recognised Dr Gerard as the actual father of Jinny. Perhaps for this reason, Dr Gerard took steps to silence her. He drugged her with mescaline which made her susceptible to suggestion. He then burdened her mind with guilt for for beating the children. This caused her to later commit suicide.