Elizabeth Day hails first TV adaptation as ‘almost a decade in the making’

Author Elizabeth Day described her first book-to-TV adaptation as “almost a decade in the making”, adding that she had “absolute shivers” seeing her book acted out on-screen.The Party is an upcoming five-part ITV series based on Day’s thriller novel of the same name starring Luke Evans as Martin Gilmour, a journalist shaped by his lifelong friendship with wealthy politician Ben Fitzmaurice (Tom Cullen).Day described the drama as a story about “identity, belonging and self-acceptance”, and it follows the events after Ben’s lavish but disastrous birthday party and the subsequent police investigation.Luke Evans stars in the TV adaptation of Elizabeth Day’s novel The Party (Yui Mok/PA)PA WireDuring a Q&A following a press screening of the show, Day joked that having her first novel adapted for TV has “ruined everything else for me”.“It takes a long time and a lot of faith, and I could not believe it when I got the email from my agent saying: ‘Luke Evans has read your book’,” she added.Evans is an executive producer on the show, which he helped bring to life after reading the novel.Day said: “I didn’t allow myself to believe it would happen until I was sitting at the table read a script in front of me.“I had one of Sarah’s amazing scripts, and watched Luke and Tom bring these characters who had only existed in my imagination to this breathtaking new life.“It was an amazing thing, but the book was published in 2017 – so it’s been almost a decade in the making for me.”Day added that seeing certain scenes acted out “gives me absolute shivers”, and also touched on how the show follows Martin desperately trying to fit into Ben’s upper-class world, suppressing many aspects of himself to do so.The journalist and podcast host said: “For me, a successful life is an authentic life.“It is a life where we are able to step into the authenticity of who we really are, so that we can drop the mask and drop the performance.“I feel very privileged that I am now in that space where the person you see now at this exciting junket is the same person who you listen to on the podcast, is the same person at home stroking her cat, is the same person writing her novels, is the same person with her friends.Read More“But it took me a really long time to get there. I think that for me, it’s such a deeply important message.“That really is the underpinning of this entire show. It is about identity and belonging and self-acceptance.“True belonging is being accepted as you really are, and fitting in is changing yourself in some way.”(left to right) Sarah Solemani and Lydia Leonard are part of the glittering cast (Yui Mok/PA)PA WireThe Party moves between the shocking events of the party and the police investigation that follows, with flashbacks to Martin’s and Ben’s lives at school, university and during their London party days.It was written and created for ITV by award-winning showrunner Sarah Solemani, who also stars as Martin’s pregnant wife, Lucy.Other members of the star-studded cast include Olivier winner Lindsay Duncan, Tony Award-winner Douglas Hodge, Riot Women star Joanna Scanlan, and A Woman Of Substance actress Lydia Leonard.Day also appears as an extra in the programme, during one of the scenes at Ben’s lavish party, calling the opportunity an “immense privilege”.“It’s the first time I’ve been lucky enough to be on set on a drama,” she said.“It takes not just a village, but a city of incredibly talented and dedicated people.“I feel so blessed to have these artists bring my novel to an entirely new, brilliant creative iteration.“I’m just so delighted to see it come to this fruition.”The Party will air on ITV1, STV and ITVX later this year with its official release date yet to be announced.