Academy award winning actress Brenda Fricker will return to television to star alongside Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones, Dublin Murders, Vienna Blood) in the four part TV adaptation of Graham Norton’s debut novel, Holding, which has begun filming on location in West Cork, Ireland and directed by Kathy Burke.
She is joined by leading Irish actors Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls, Nowhere Special, Collateral) Charlene McKenna (Peaky Blinders, Vienna Blood, Bloodlands), Helen Behan (Elizabeth is Missing, The Virtues, This is England ’90), and Pauline McLynn (GameFace, Father Ted, Angela’s Ashes).
Siobhan McSweeney as Brid in ITV Drama "Holding", photographed by Conor Horgan
“‘I am ecstatic to be part of this wonderful production, in beautiful Skibbereen, and finally not to be playing a mother! Mrs Meany is a bit of a dark horse. She has had a dreadful life but has retained her values, her friendships and most of all her sense of humour, keep a sharp eye on her,” Brenda Fricker said.
Set in the insular fictional village of Duneen, West Cork, on the edge of Ireland, a place with its own climate and rhythms, Holding is a darkly funny and an inherently Irish production with support from Screen Ireland.
Set to air on Virgin Media Television, Holding will see Olivier award winning actor, Hill play local police officer Sergeant PJ Collins, a gentle man who hides from people and fills his days with comfort food and half-hearted police work. He is one of life’s outsiders, lovable, but lonely and a bit rubbish at his job.
Conleth Hill as PJ in ITV Drama "Holding", photographed by Conor Horgan
When the body of long-lost local legend Tommy Burke is discovered, PJ is called to solve a serious crime for the first time in his career. Unearthing long buried secrets, PJ finally connects with the village he has tried so hard to avoid.
McSweeney plays vulnerable, messy Bríd Riordan. Bríd had been due to marry Tommy before his untimely disappearance, whilst McKenna is youthful, stuck Evelyn Ross who desperately loved him. The two women are at the heart of the community and neither is above suspicion.
Fricker takes the role of Lizzie Meany, a shy presence in PJ’s life who has been battling her own demons and secrets - as PJ comes to discover…
Siobhán McSweeney said, “I cannot think of a better script in a better place with a better cast and crew. I’m in heaven being back in Cork.”
Watch our EXCLUSIVE catch up with Graham Norton here
