In the short story Problem at Sea, the younger passengers on board the Mediterranean cruise all referred to one of their elderly fellow travellers as Grandfather of All the Tea Planters. Commenting on the behaviour of Mrs Adeline Clapperton, this elderly gentleman tells Poirot that "I'd take a hatchet to that woman if I were her husband."
The real name of this passenger is never revealed. In the 1989 ITV adaptation of the story, this passenger is given the name Mr Russell. In this adaptation none of the passengers use the derogatory label on him.