Dermot West and the Red Signal

The name Dermot West is a significant one in the Christie verse for two reasons. It would go on to be used as the name for the husband character in Unfinished Portrait by Mary West McCott, which was almost more autobiographical than Christie's autobiography. Also, Nathaniel West was one of the pen names Christie toyed with using when she was younger and still considering the use of a pen name. The key character of Dermot was played by London born actor Tom Helmore, who would later be best known for the role of Gavin Elster in Alfred Hitchcock's vertigo.