JK Rowling left 'crying her eyes out' at ending of BBC adaptation of The Casual Vacancy
JK ROWLING tweeted that she was left "crying her eyes out" over the emotional ending of The Casual Vacancy.
The Harry Potter author published the best-selling novel in 2012 as her first book for adults and the 49-year-old gave the BBC adaptation her full approval when she took to the social media site following the series finale to congratulate the writer and director.
"Well, that's me crying my eyes out, so job done. Serves me right, some might say. Thank you, thank you," Rowling posted.
However some fans of the book complained because writer, Sarah Phelps, altered the bleak original ending to make it less "grim".
The conclusion of the BBC three-part series saw a different, slightly cheerier conclusion, with one innocent character spared a tragic and untimely death.
Phelps praised Rowling for being "so classy and generous and brilliant" about the changes, after giving her seal of approval for the screenwriter to have free reign over the characters.
"I was very straight with Jo and told her that I needed to write a different ending," she told the Radio Times.
"It’s still heartbreaking, but I had to find some kind of redemptive moment at the end of it all, that sense that after the tragedy, someone gets to stand with a slightly straighter back.
"If you’ve invested three hours of your leisure time to watch a show and get involved, there’s got to be reward. You’ve got to think that it was worth it and that the characters aren’t just a pack of s****; they’ve got to be a little bit funny, a little bit understandable."
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The storyline saw Krystal Weedon perish in a river after jumping in, in an attempt to save her little brother Robbie from drowning.
While the television programme spared young Robbie, the child dies in the Rowling novel.
Many fans took to Twitter to air their disappointment.
"Words cannot express how angry I am about the casual vacancy ending," wrote one.
Another added: "Just can't understand why the BBC chose to completely alter the ending of what is a truly great novel? Gratuitous."
"The tragic, harrowing ending is one of the Casual Vacancy book's redeeming features. The TV adaptation made it a bit empty and pointless," said another.
