Advertisement

How similar is ITV's Holding to Graham Norton's book?

Holding on ITV has kept viewers gripped since it aired its first episode last month. The drama, starring Game of Thrones actor Conleth Hill as the leading man, tells the story of a sleepy Irish town being rocked by a murder after a body is discovered.

MORE: Where is Holding filmed? Check out the locations here

As Sergeant PJ Collins begins to get his head around solving his first serious murder case, many potential victims come to the forefront, making it more complicated than initially thought.

Many might be aware that the story was adapted from TV legend Graham Norton's Sunday Times Bestselling book of the same name. His novel was scripted for ITV and then directed by fellow TV legend, Kathy Burke, no less. But some might be wondering how similar the book and show are. Here's what we know…

WATCH: Holding on ITV - see the trailer here

How similar is ITV's Holding to Graham Norton's book?

Judging from the series so far, and from Graham Norton's comments ahead of the release of the TV show, the bare bones of the story from his book have been kept for the adaptation. Much like the drama, the book also tells the story of a town in West Cork which is shocked when human remains are discovered by local workmen.

Both in the book and the show, the main character, PJ, is painted as an anti-hero, and someone who is perhaps out of his depth when it comes to solving a murder.

MORE: ITV's Holding: viewers seriously divided over new murder mystery

MORE: Who is in the cast of ITV's new drama Holding? See the full cast

episode-three-holding
episode-three-holding

Are you watching the show?

Graham told press ahead of the show's debut: "Honestly, I wrote the book so long ago that when it came to it, I didn't remember what the characters were called.

He continued: "I do know that the story has changed, I think people who read the book and enjoyed the book would be able to follow the thread of their story through it.

"But there's all these other great adjuncts and subplots and kind of red herrings and things that [the scriptwriters] Karen [Cogan] and Dominic [Treadwell-Collins] have done so brilliantly. I think the biggest change and the best sort of opening up, finding depth was in the Ross sisters.

"My Ross sisters were much more constrained and I think they have been fully developed, those three women now."

holding-ep3
holding-ep3

Producers haven't confirmed if the show will return

Will there be a series two of Holding?

Holding is yet to be renewed for a second series. Although series one is thought to wrap in the same way the book ends, that's not to say scriptwriters won't continue the story in their own way, should demand be high. Watch this space…

What are the fans making of ITV's Holding?

Fans have been somewhat divided by Holding and some have said the show didn't live up to the book. One person wrote: "#Holding so far not doing justice to the book. I'll give it a chance though," while another added: "I liked the book, but knew within ten minutes that turning it into a TV drama wasn’t a good idea and turned off. Some books don’t lend themselves well to dramatisation."

Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.