Viewers in the UK gave Red Rock a warm welcome after it made its debut on BBC One on Monday, taking to Twitter to give their tuppence worth on the Irish soap.
The acclaimed soap made its debut on BBC One at 1.45pm on Monday July 11 in the slot usually occupied by Doctors.
It looks like it's already going down a storm with BBC viewers, with one commenter writing: "Whoever at BBC daytime decided to buy this brilliant cross between EastEnders and The Bill is a genius" while another complimented the show's "strong, powerful, inspirational female characters".
The 80 episodes of the first series, which launched on TV3 last year, have been merged into forty longer episodes for the BBC.
Whoever at BBC daytime decided to buy this brilliant cross between EastEnders and The Bill is a genius #redrock
— Gordon Donaldson (@gdonaldson88) July 11, 2016
#redrock deserves to be a monster hit here in the rest of The UK like Neighbours and Home and Away stormed the UK it's fantastic
— Gordon Donaldson (@gdonaldson88) July 11, 2016
We've now got some Irish soap on the box!!! #RedRock ..... hhhhmm not too shabby tbh @mandgil
— Halifax Lad (@most_mike) July 11, 2016
Hmmm, that wasn't bad. I like it. #redrock
— Peta Fox (@TheRadioFanatic) July 11, 2016
Anyone think UK soap is lacking strong, powerful, inspirational female characters?
— Sam (@IAreSam) July 11, 2016
Check out #RedRock.#MoreThanJustBabyOvens
@IAreSam Thanks for recommending Red Rock - I really enjoyed it!
— Chloe (@life_in_clomo) July 11, 2016
If you feel like the "soap" genre has gotten stale and sensationalist in the UK - definitely give #RedRock a try.
— Sam (@IAreSam) July 1, 2016
Redrock I welcome you with open arms. Hopefully we have something for an adult audience and it's not full of teenage angst #Redrock
— eileen cumiskey (@eileencum55) July 11, 2016
Enjoyed #RedRock looking forward to episode two tomorrow!
— Michael Harrison (@Michaelh747) July 11, 2016
The TV3 series, which is produced by Dublin's Element Pictures and the UK's Angel Station (formerly Company Pictures), premiered on Irish screens at the start of 2015 and has received widespread acclaim and numerous awards.
At the IFTA TV Awards in Dublin last October Red Rock was honoured with Best Soap, Best Director (Lisa Mulcahy) and the People's Choice TV Show of the Year award. Streaming service Amazon Prime recently acquired Red Rock in a deal reported to be worth over €1m and which will see the series stream in the US for a number of years.
Red Rock impressing with UK viewers
Speaking to RTÉ TEN, Red Rock's executive producer, Ed Guiney from Element Pictures, described the BBC deal as a "massive testament" to everyone who worked on the series.
"Coming on the back of the recent acquisition by Amazon it's a huge achievement for an Irish show," he said.
"It's also a great credit to TV3 and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland who have been such steadfast and inspiring backers. The team at Element, and our partner John Yorke at Angel Station, are very grateful indeed to all."
The BBC's Daytime Controller, Dan McGolpin, said its viewers are in for a treat when the Gardaí and the feuding Hennessy and Kiely families come to the BBC schedule.
Here we go...What an exciting step on this incredible journey! #RedRock https://t.co/u6b6nvYhH7
— David Crowley (@davygcrowley) July 11, 2016
Today is a hugely exciting day for #RedRock's cast and crew as the show begins broadcasting in the UK on BBC1!
— Gareth Philips (@GarethPhilips) July 11, 2016