Holding | Interview with Conleth Hill (Sargeant P J Collins)

Tell us about Holding

The story of Holding circles around at least two uses of the word itself – the first is the little farms that our characters scrape a living from, and the other is the secrets they’re all holding from each other and the world.

What attracted you to the project?

I read the novel when it first came out and I just thought it was great. The fact that Kathy Burke was directing was also a no brainer, I think she’s a genius and the opportunity of working with her was too good to resist. I was particularly taken with the character of PJ because he’s such a flawed hero.

Tell us more about PJ

PJ is a multi-layered character. He’s led a mundane existence, comprising very little police work in the village. He’s got lots of baggage and, like other characters, he’s damaged by earlier experiences (which come out through the course of the series). He’s just an ordinary man and I think that’s what appealed to me. He’s not a brilliant detective, not a brilliant policeman, he’s not a brilliant man, but they are the roles that are most challenging and exciting to play. After so many years of being a Garda, PJ suddenly gets his first murder case and his life changes now that he has something important to work on. There are lots of families with secrets in the village that we get to know over the course of the series.

Who are PJ’s key relationships in the story?

PJ’s relationship at home is with his housekeeper, Mrs Meany, played by the brilliant Brenda Fricker. Mrs Meany is the closest to family that PJ has, and he cares deeply about her.

He also gets close to Bríd Riordan played by the brilliant Siobhán McSweeney, and he has connections to the Ross sisters, as you’ll discover as the story progresses.

Mrs O’Driscoll, played by the brilliant Pauline McLynn, is probably the character PJ has the most dealings with because basically she’s not happy with things in the village.

What is PJ’s relationship like with Linus, the new detective who joins him in the case?

Their relationship starts off quite acrimoniously but eventually there’s a grudging respect and dare I say love for each other, for what they’re both going through. Linus is young as PJ is old, and experienced as PJ is inexperienced. He just brings a Dublin city via Cork city vibe to the whole thing, he’s very stylish. Clinton is an amazing person to work with, as is everyone.

Tell us about Bríd and Evelyn

Bríd and Evelyn are two of the many important woman in the series. For a reason that will become clear to viewers, they fell out, and both become suspects in the murder case.

Can you tell us about the themes of the series?

I think the holding in of secrets is a huge theme within the story, from the guilty and the innocent, the involved and the bystanders, they’ve all got their secrets like in all small towns. One of the curses of living in a small town is that everyone knows your business, but I guess that all depends on your perspective, as sometimes it’s an advantage as people will look out for you too. Secrets that people keep, and why they keep them, is a key theme.

What’s it been like shooting on location in West Cork?

West Cork is beautiful. Sometimes you wish you had a drone’s eye view of it because through every twist and turn there’s another beautiful beach, village or landscape. West Cork is a big star of our show.

What do you think viewers will most enjoy about Holding?

I think it’s the discovery of those secrets as the series progresses and the explanations for why people have behaved the way they have. It’s also a good old whodunnit mystery that you’ll want to get to the bottom of.