How Marian Keyes' books have been changed for The Walsh Sisters TV series
The Walsh Family stories have been sold millions of times over as novels – but expect something completely different on your screens
The Walsh Sisters is coming to BBC One and will bring beloved characters from Marian Keyes books to life – but they’ll not quite be like you remember.
The Walsh Family book series became international bestsellers, with millions of readers falling in love with Maggie, Rachel, Claire, Anna and Helen, as well as their mammy and daddy.
Irish author Marian Keyes was keen to make sure the five sisters and their unbreakable bond amid their troubled lives was done right. After all, her own experience of addiction inspired her to write Rachel’s story, with her real-life family connections influencing the ones in her stories.
As a result, Keyes was a writer for the series, joining forces with Kefi Chadwick, as well as Stefanie Preissner, who plays Maggie on screen. Key things have changed that may surprise some viewers.
Here’s everything you need to know about the differences between The Walsh Sisters and the books they’re based on.
**Warning: Contains spoilers for The Walsh Sisters and Marian Keyes’ books**
How many novels are in the Walsh Family series?
To date, there are seven novels based on the Walsh family, particularly the sisters. Released over a span of 30 years, each book sees a different sister take centre stage to tell her story.
In order, the novels are:
- Watermelon (1995) – focusing on Claire
- Rachel’s Holiday (1997) – focusing on Rachel
- Angels (2002) – focusing on Maggie
- Anybody Out There? (2006) – focusing on Anna
- The Mystery of Mercy Close (2012) – focusing on Helen
- Again, Rachel (2022) – returning to Rachel
- My Favourite Mistake (2024) – a new story with Anna
Watermelon was previously adapted into a TV movie in 2003, with Anna Friel starring as Claire.
What stories does The Walsh Sisters TV series adapt?
This is where things get tricky. While they’re the basis for the show, The Walsh Sisters is not a direct adaptation of Marian Keyes’ books. So fans of the novels – be warned. It’s quite a different tale, although very much with the same heart.
Instead, the series uses two novels – Rachel’s Holiday and Anybody Out There? – as a foundation, with key moments from Anna and Rachel’s stories forming the backbone of the series
In Rachel’s Holiday, Rachel goes to rehab after a wild night out results in her having an accidental overdose. She returns to Dublin from New York to get treatment, and starts her three-week stay in denial. Over time, she learns how her behaviour as an alcoholic and drug addict has impacted those around her.
In Anybody Out There?, Anna is living with mammy, daddy and Helen after a horrendous car accident. When she returns to her home in New York, we find out that her husband, Aidan, died in the crash. Consumed with grief, she tries to find a way to contact him one last time – and instead discovers a secret that upends what she thinks about the relationship they shared.
The show grabs the main elements of their stories to lay down something new. In Rachel’s case, it’s heading to rehab, or “on holiday” as her family tell others. For Anna, it’s the death of Aidan, now her fiancé, in a car accident.
What is different in The Walsh Sisters TV show?
There are some massive changes from Marian Keyes’ books to the show. For starters, in the novels three of the sisters are based in various parts of America – though they are still Irish, with their family home in Dublin.
In the series, all five sisters live, work and party in Dublin, not too far from their Mammy and Daddy. Anna and Rachel live in a flat together, not in separate apartments in New York. In Rachel’s Holiday, Rachel gets help after her housemate, Brigit, calls an ambulance and Rachel’s family after discovering her passed out. In the series, it is on/off boyfriend Luke that calls 999 for her after finding her unresponsive, though she wakes up and cancels it.
Ultimately, it’s Anna that urges her to go to rehab after another wild night ends with Rachel in A&E. Refusing to acknowledge she has a problem, she hits another bar, before calling Anna to pick her up. As Aidan and Anna drive to get her, they wind up in the car accident that kickstarts Anna’s story.
The family then navigate the fallout of both together. At the same time, we see Maggie trying to start her own family, Claire struggling with being a single mum now her divorce is through, and Helen trying to find her own path while at college.
While elements of the two books weave through the show, they are ultimately two different beasts.
What have The Walsh Sisters cast members said about the changes?
The cast and creators are aware the show is not what fans of Marian Keyes’ books are expecting to see.
Aidan Quinn, who plays Daddy Walsh, felt the pressure was on to get it right, but was aware adaptations needed to be made to make it a more modern story.
He told Irish Independent: “I always get nervous. People are so religiously devoted to Marian Keyes’ books. They have to realise that the books this is based on were [written in] the 1990s. There were no cell phones, there was no this [waves].
“Stefanie had to update it completely. So this is going to be very different.”
Writer and actress Stefanie Preissner told The Times: “The job was not to adapt verbatim, but to keep that sense of what Keyes does so well, which is that feeling of when you’re laughing and crying in the same scene, hiding the vegetables in the sauce, so to speak. Life isn’t genre-true. It’s not a comedy or a drama.”
Louisa Harland, who plays Anna, sees the series almost as a ‘love story’ between sisters Rachel and Anna, telling Image IE: “Even though it’s an adaptation, I still think the characters are the same at their core, and Marian thinks that too, which is the most important thing.”
While Caroline Menton, who plays Rachel, added to the publication she was aware of the “pressure and responsibility” and said: “You want to do the characters justice and honour the world she’s created, even though it’s our own interpretation. There’s always that hope that you’ve managed to fulfil that responsibility.”
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