PRECISION STRIKE
TOM BURKE AND HOLLIDAY GRAINGER STAR IN AN ADAPTATION OF THE HIT MYSTERY NOVELS…
THE RELATIONSHIP WITH ROBIN IS A WEIRD BLIND SPOT” TOM
Private investigator Cormoran Strike joins the ranks of television detectives this week, in a new series adapted from the novels by Robert Galbraith – a pen name for JK Rowling. Surely, playing the lead role in such a hotly anticipated series must come with a lot of pressure? But as Inside TV chats to Tom Burke, who plays Strike, we discover that he managed to push it to the back of his mind…
“It’s huge, but for some reason it didn’t quite hit me until after we had finished,” admits the star. “I’m really hoping that people will like it, but I don’t think about fame – I think if I did, I’d probably start to feel sick or something!”
The series begins as Robin Ellacott arrives for her placement as Strike’s secretary, only to catch the end of a fight between him and his girlfriend. It’s a pretty blunt introduction to Strike’s world, but Robin isn’t put off.
“Robin has always wanted to be an investigator, and she has never had the opportunity to start that career,” explains Holliday Grainger, who plays her. “She immediately shows aptitude for the job because she’s practical, intelligent and she can very easily think on her feet – and I think Strike notices that right away.”
“I think he’s someone who, when you first meet him, he seems slightly gruff,” adds Tom. “But you quickly realise he’s had an incredibly dark and strange childhood which has left him feeling quite fragile. I think he’s somebody most people would warm to.”
Their first case together involves the death of model Lula Landry, who is reported to have committed suicide by leaping from the window of her apartment. But her adoptive brother is convinced that she was murdered and, having lost faith in the police investigation, he hires Strike to review the evidence. Strike invites Robin to join him in the trail, and it turns out the two of them make a good team. But will their relationship stop at being purely professional?
“The joy of Strike and Robin’s relationship is that the build is so slow,” teases Holliday. “They have a huge amount of respect for each other – and I think with that kind of mutual respect there’s something more. Their feelings for each other become more complicated, but I’m not sure they even know themselves.”
“The relationship with Robin is a weird blind spot,” agrees Tom. “Everyone else can see what it is, apart from him and Robin. That’s my take on it!”
While both Tom and Holliday read the novels to prepare for the series, JK Rowling took a fairly hands-off role and only came in for the read-through of the script at the start – at which Holliday had a rather odd first meeting with the author…
“We met for the first time in the toilet!” recalls the actor. “We were obviously both doing that thing where you’re like, ‘Wow, everyone and their dog is in here, let’s escape to the loo!’. So we both came out of next-door toilet cubicles and saw each other and we were like, ‘Are we ready?
We’re ready, let’s go!’”