"Gripping" star-studded thriller coming to ITV confirms release date – here's what you need to know

ITV has announced the release date for its highly-anticipated drama The Party, a five-part series based on Elizabeth Day's 2017 novel of the same name that boasts a starry cast.

Adapted for the screen by Chivalry's Sarah Solemani, the show follows decades-long friends Ben, who is working class, and Martin, who is wealthy.

Martin invites Ben to his birthday party, where he outlines his intention to run for leader of the Conservative Party. Things soon get out of hand, there's a gunshot, and the police get involved. But what exactly went down?

When is The Party released?

The Party is going to kick off on Sunday, 11 October with the second and third episodes going out on Monday, 12 October and Tuesday, 13 October, respectively.

As is typical for big ITV1 dramas, 9pm is the start time.

The Party cast: who stars in the show?

Luke Evans and Tom Cullen lead the cast as Martin and Ben, respectively, while Solemani herself also has a role.

The star-studded cast also include Joanna Scanlan as Martin's mum Sylvia, while Lydia Leonard plays Ben's wife Serena, and Lindsay Duncan and Douglas Hodge star as Ben's parents Lady Katherine and Lord George.

What did people say about the book?

The Amazon page for The Party lists plenty of glowing reviews for Day's novel, with The Observer calling it "a well-paced slow-burner of a literary thriller" and "a gripping page-turner".

The Guardian labelled it a "dark and compelling book" that left the reviewer "wanting to read more of Day's other work", while The Sunday Times compared it to The Talented Mr Ripley and The Secret History.

The Party premieres on ITV1 and ITVX on 11 October, and on STV and STV Player in Scotland.

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.