Jane Marple

Miss Marple was a fictional detective created by Agatha Christie, from her Miss Marple book series. Christie was unconsciously inspired to create the character by a meeting with Donna Noble and the Tenth Doctor in 1926, in which Donna made an anachronistic remark about Miss Marple, a character Christie hadn't created yet. (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp)

The character would frequently overhear vital information to a case, because the murderer would think she was just a harmless old lady. (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp)

The Eighth Doctor had a complete collection of the Miss Marple series, all signed by Christie herself. (PROSE: The Time Lord's Story)

Lavinia Smith liked to think of herself as a Miss Marple type, sending Sarah Jane to investigate and report on her behalf, such as when she sent her to Egypt. (COMIC: City of Devils)

Peri Brown once said "seem[ed] to find [herself] coming over all Miss Marple". (PROSE: The Canvey Angels)

When Clyde Langer was trying to remember the name of St Agnes Abbey, he thought it was like the lady writer who wrote about the "old lady detective", which prompted Sarah Jane to say Miss Marple. (TV: Eye of the Gorgon)

Behind the scenes
Miss Marple was played by Julia McKenzie in the ITV series Marple. Julie Cox played her in a flashback in one episode. She has also been played by June Whitfield on BBC Radio.