Holding On

Why the BBC has not yet put this out on video, let alone DVD (there was some great camera work) is beyond my comprehension. It resurfaced the magnificent David Morrissey in my brain as a superb actor and for that alone I am grateful to those who made the series happen. Dubbed "Our Friends in the South" on first appearance, as it followed hard on the heels of that other great BBC series, it soon commanded its own fanbase. I can still see in my mind's eye the scene in the travel agents with Morrissey when his world truly begins to come undone, all moral certainty abandoned in an instant. I crib this from a Guardian review of the time - and thank you to whoever wrote that, I still keep the cutting at home. But nevertheless even before I had read the review of that episode that scene had been haunting me and I had been driving everyone insane that day whittering on about how stunning it was.

The coming together of characters and stories is something that derives from 19th century literature (think Dickins if nothing else) but in the cinema and television drama is rarely done well. "Magnolia" would be the main other example of this kind of connected narrative that comes off.

If you saw it, I expect you will know exactly what I mean by raving about Morrissey. If you did not see it, hassle the BBC to put it out again on video/DVD if not repeated on the channel (and try to tell them that putting it on the damn cable channels as yet cannot constitute a proper repeat).

A sprawling multi-stranded series, this programme contains some of the best acting from an ensemble cast in a UK drama, with top class writing and direction to match. Now it's finally had a DVD release it's been wonderful to find that my memory of its brilliance wasn't incorrect - it's still relevant today nearly ten years on, and also very refreshing to see London used in a way other than the usual travelogue images of Routemaster buses and Big Ben. The closest the UK has come to Altman's Short Cuts, something the series itself alludes to in the first episode, I reckon this is easily up there with some of the most classic shows from the past 20 years and I'm so pleased it still holds up well.

If you ever get the chance to see this show I cannot recommend it highly enough. Written by the brilliant Stephen Merchant the story revolves around the lives of several people whose lives are unknowingly intertwined on the streets and underground of London. It may be 20 years old but remains one of the finest dramas the BBC has ever made.

As the producer of Holding On I can now confirm that the BBC are at last issuing the whole drama as a 3-disc DVD set in the UK summer 2005. Please tell your friends. Go out and buy! I don't know how heavily it will be publicised. Thanks to those who lobbied if that's what made it happen. They do listen eventually. Everyone who worked on it is very proud of it and now it can have a life beyond the one transmission it received in September 1997 (slightly overshadowed by the death of a certain princess I remember!) Will there ever be a drama of such ambition again on British TV? And who'd have guessed that David Morrissey would end up opposite Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2?

Holding On was one of the best things I've ever seen on TV. Apart from the fact that David Morrissey is a superb actor the rest of the cast were also brilliant. Each episode had me spellbound and never wanting it to end. Having to wait a week for the next one was almost too much. I cannot believe that it has never been repeated and sadly that a DVD is not available. I think it was one of the greatest pieces of writing I have ever seen and this view was held by everyone I know who watched it. The cast were made up of some of the best British actors around. It was totally engrossing and so easy to become completely involved in the lives of all of them.