Mrs Binster

Mrs Binster is a non-canonical character created for Murder, She Said, the MGM 1961 adaptation of 4.50 from Paddington. Mrs Binster's employment agency serves the area of Brackhampton. Miss Marple wanted to infiltrate Ackenthorpe Hall in order to further her investigations into the woman whom she saw being strangled on board a train. She thought that the best way to do this was as a maid and so approached the agency. A young man served her and suggested several situations which were available. Miss Marple did not find any of these suitable and she asked to see the person in charge, whom she assumed was Mrs Binster. To her surprise, the young man said that he was "Mrs Binster". He did not explain why he had chosen to run his business under a female name. Nonetheless, he did manage to get Miss Marple a job as a maid at Ackenthorpe Hall. The part of "Mrs Binster" was played by Richard Briers.