Ruth Gemmell as 'Miss Sweetiman'
In the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead, Mrs Sweetiman was the Broadhinny postmistress. She was one of the first people Poirot spoke to when he arrived at the village to investigate the death of Mrs McGinty. Poirot considered her "the brains of the village". She was able to tell Poirot who Mrs McGinty worked for and her relationship with the fellow villagers and her various employers. More significantly she told Poirot that shortly before her death, Mrs McGinty had come to purchase a bottle of ink, presumably to write a letter. The old lady had looked rather excited.
Portrayals[]
Mrs Sweetiman was played by Ruth Gemmell in the film adaptation of Mrs McGinty's Dead in Series 11 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot. In the adaptation she was "Miss Sweetiman". She did not have an assistant named Edna. Miss Sweetiman had an affair with Joe Burch, the husband of Mrs McGinty's niece Bessie Burch. While having an assignation with Joe, she saw a woman go into the house of Laura Upward on the night she was murdered.
In Mademoiselle Mac Ginty est morte, the France Télévisions and Escazal films adaptation of the novel, there is a parallel character similar to Mrs Sweetiman called Régine Molon.