ITV drama series Holding, adapted from Graham Norton’s novel of the same name, has taken both viewers and our hero Sergeant PJ Collins (Conleth Hill) on plenty of twists and turns as he’s tried to get to the bottom of a 20-year-old cold case murder.
Be warned, there are spoilers ahead if you haven’t yet seen all four episodes, which are available on ITV Hub but are airing weekly on ITV.
In episode 3, PJ discovered that his housekeeper Mrs Meaney (Brenda Fricker) was in fact the biological mother of murder victim Tommy Burke (explaining why his DNA test didn’t match his adopted parents, which threw a huge curveball for the Garda at the end of episode 2).
In the season finale, PJ finally discovered the letter that Tommy had supposedly sent his lover Evelyn Ross (Charlene McKenna) back in 2002, a year after his disappearance and murder. The letter contained a line lifted from a famous poem, giving PJ his first concrete clue…
Who killed Tommy Burke in Holding?
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In the final episode of Holding, PJ learns that it was Abigail Ross (Helen Behan) – the older sister of Evelyn Ross, who killed Tommy Burke. It was her who later forged a love letter from Tommy to Evelyn, using a quotation from a favourite Oscar Wilde poem (which first tipped PJ off).
On the night before his wedding to Bríd Riordan (Siobhan McSweeney) in 2001, a drunken Tommy had taken Evelyn back to her family farm, where he beat her up in the same barn in which her father had died by suicide. Evelyn miscarried their baby while he looked on, and the pair were found by Abigail.
When she had put Evelyn to bed, Abigail returned to Tommy. He tried to assault her, and she pushed him onto the spikes of the thresher, impaling him. Although she claimed she had moved his body by herself, it’s strongly implied that her younger sister Florence (Amy Conroy) helped to move the body, without Evelyn’s knowledge.
After PJ confronted her with the knowledge, Abigail confessed – but when she realised that he also suspected Florence of helping to move the body, she drove both herself and PJ over a cliff and into the sea. He survived, but she did not.
In the end, Florence skipped town, and it’s suggested that PJ won’t reveal his suspicions about her involvement in Tommy Burke’s murder.
We also saw PJ finally open up about his own father’s drowning, and at the end of the episode we saw him ditch his stash of junk food, and go for a swim in the sea.
- Holding’s Conleth Hill: ‘This is the best role I’ve ever had – including Game of Thrones’ Varys’
- Holding location guide: Where is the Graham Norton adaptation filmed?
The full series of Holding is available to watch on ITV Hub now, while the series continues on Mondays at 9pm on ITV. You can also find something to watch with our TV Guide.
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