TV LAND

First it was Coronation Street, now it's Poirot heading for trouble over a storyline.

The Belgian 'tec features in Murder On The Orient Express - which begins with the abduction of a young girl - chillingly similar to the real-life Madeleine McCann case.

Poirot star David Suchet defends ITV's decision to screen the film, saying: "This is taken from Agatha Christie's novel and we feel it important to demonstrate the wickedness of one of the central characters. "This is Poirot totally out of his comfort zone, in a story which is both challenging and gritty."

Corrie could also court controversy by featuring a plot in which six-year-old Simon Barlow disappears while on holiday with his grandparents in Blackpool.

Street bosses dropped a missing child story three years ago, in the wake of Madeleine's abduction in Portugal.