Graham Norton's debut novel Holding became a bestseller when it hit the shelves in 2016 and we can't wait to see the world he created brought to life in ITV's new four-part adaptation.
The drama tells the darkly comic tale of the insular community of Duneen, West Cork, which is turned upside down when the bones of long-lost local legend, Tommy Burke, are discovered on a building site.
Sergeant PJ Collins (Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill) a gentle police officer with a penchant for comfort food, is tasked with investigating and his inquiry opens the door on a host of secrets and lies from down the years.
With a supporting cast including Pauline McLynn (Father Ted) and Charlene McKenna (Peaky Blinders) ITV hopes it will be a hit with audiences and Graham can't wait to see it on the screen...
"I wrote the book so long ago that when it came to it, I didn't remember what the characters were called!" he says. "People have asked if ITV made any changes and I'm like: 'I don't know!' I feel like there's more people in it and the story has changed, but I think people who enjoyed the book will be able to follow the thread of the story through it. But now there's all these other great adjuncts, subplots and red herrings."
The ITV series was brought to the screen by Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Karen Cogan, with Graham heaping praise upon their adaptation...
"I didn't want to do the adaptation. I just think that's a skill and a job that other people are able to do. I also felt like I'd had my time with those characters. I'd done my work with them. I'd enjoyed them and it was time to hand them over.
"I've loved this experience, because I had nothing to do! I thought I might feel weird about it, I thought it might be an odd thing. But actually, I've loved seeing the direction the characters and the story has gone in and the way the world has opened up and become larger."
One of the things Graham says he's really enjoyed about the screen adaption is the way the show has fleshed out the Ross sisters, Abigail, Evelyn and Florence.
"My sisters were much more constrained," says Graham. "I think they've been fully developed those three women and now each one of them could have their own show.
"My book is a genre book, it's cosy crime. There are lots of books like my book. And what Karen and Dominic have done is they've made a TV show that isn't like other television shows and that is so hard to do. Because, you know, everything's a bit like something else. They've really elevated it."
Meanwhile the show's star Conleth Hill says he felt very connected to the role of Sergeant PJ Collins...
"I was aware of the parallels between him and myself, because he’s waited all his life and then in his 50s he gets his big break, which is a bit like me with Game of Thrones! But he's the best character I've ever been presented with and I loved playing him."
Holding begins on ITV at 9pm on Monday 14 March (see our TV Guide for full listings).
