Graham Norton's 'Forever Home' Begins on Channel 5 as Cork-Set Novel Relocates to Northumberland for TV Adaptation
Graham Norton's 2022 novel 'Forever Home', originally set in a small Irish town, has been adapted into a six-part drama series for Channel 5, with the setting relocated from Cork to Northumberland — a creative decision that has drawn comment from Irish viewers who had hoped to see the story told in its original Irish context, though the series itself has been warmly received by critics for its performances and its exploration of family dynamics and community belonging.
Background
Graham Norton is one of the most recognisable Irish figures in British entertainment, having built a career as a television presenter, chat show host, and Eurovision commentator that has made him a household name on both sides of the Irish Sea. Less well known, perhaps, is his parallel career as a novelist — a pursuit he has described as a private passion that allows him to explore themes and emotions that do not fit the format of his television work.
Norton's debut novel, 'Holding', published in 2016, was set in a fictional Irish village and explored the impact of a long-buried secret on a small community. It was adapted for television in 2022 by ITV, with the adaptation filmed on location in West Cork — in Drimoleague and Castletownshend — and broadcast in Ireland on Virgin Media TV. The series was directed by Kathy Burke and starred Conleth Hill, Siobhán McSweeney, and Brenda Fricker, and was widely praised for its faithful rendering of the novel's Irish setting and its sensitive portrayal of rural Irish life.
'Forever Home', Norton's third novel, published in 2022, is set in a small Irish town and follows Carol Crottie, a woman who moves to the town following a personal crisis and finds herself drawn into the lives of its inhabitants. The novel explores themes of belonging, community, and the possibility of reinvention — themes that Norton has described as central to his own experience of moving between Ireland and Britain over the course of his career.
Key Developments
The decision to relocate the television adaptation from Ireland to Northumberland has been the most discussed aspect of the production. The series, which stars Amy Nuttall as Carol Crottie and Douglas Henshall as Robert Barrie, was filmed in Northumberland rather than in Cork, with the production team arguing that the family dynamics at the heart of the story are "location-agnostic" and that the Northumberland landscape provides a visually compelling backdrop for the drama.
Actors involved in the production have acknowledged the change of setting, noting that while the original book was set in Cork, the television series focuses on the universal themes of family, community, and belonging that transcend any specific geography. Nuttall has spoken warmly of the Northumberland locations, describing them as "hauntingly beautiful" and arguing that they serve the story well even if they are not the setting that Norton originally envisaged.
The series has received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the performances of Nuttall and Henshall and for the quality of the writing, which has been adapted from Norton's novel by a team of experienced television writers. The Irish Times described it as "a handsome, well-acted drama that does justice to Norton's themes if not his geography," while the Guardian praised it as "a quietly compelling piece of television that rewards patient viewing."
Why It Matters
The 'Forever Home' adaptation raises questions that are relevant beyond this particular production: about the relationship between Irish literature and its screen adaptations, about the decisions that are made when Irish stories are translated for British or international audiences, and about the extent to which setting is integral to the meaning of a story or merely incidental to it.
The contrast with the 'Holding' adaptation is instructive. That series was filmed in West Cork and was widely praised for the authenticity of its Irish setting — the landscape, the accents, the social dynamics of a small Irish community were all rendered with care and specificity. The decision to relocate 'Forever Home' to Northumberland suggests a different set of priorities, one in which the commercial considerations of a Channel 5 production — which is primarily aimed at a British audience — have taken precedence over fidelity to the source material's Irish context.
This is not necessarily a criticism of the production — television adaptations inevitably involve compromises, and the 'Forever Home' series has clearly been made with care and craft. But it is a reminder that Irish stories, when they travel to British screens, do not always travel with their Irishness intact.
Local Impact
In Cork, where the novel is set, the reaction to the Northumberland relocation has been mixed. Some readers have expressed disappointment that the opportunity to showcase the county's landscape and communities on a major British television channel has been missed, while others have taken a more pragmatic view, arguing that the important thing is that Norton's story reaches a wide audience regardless of where it is filmed.
The 'Holding' adaptation, which was filmed in West Cork, generated significant tourism interest in the Drimoleague and Castletownshend areas, with visitors seeking out the locations used in the series. A similar effect might have been expected from a Cork-set 'Forever Home', and the decision to film in Northumberland means that this potential economic benefit will not materialise for the county.
What's Next
The six-part 'Forever Home' series continues on Channel 5 over the coming weeks, with new episodes airing on Sunday evenings. The series is also available on the Channel 5 streaming platform, My5, for those who wish to watch at their own pace. Norton has indicated in recent interviews that he is working on a fourth novel, though he has not provided details of its setting or subject matter. The success of the 'Forever Home' adaptation — both critically and commercially — will likely influence whether further Norton novels are optioned for television.
