Fair City has unveiled its brand new home, with Carrigstown getting a facelift that includes two previously unseen locations.
The new Fair City lot has been in the planning for years and took eight months to construct with a team of over 30 people from production, design and planning.
Ahead of the set's New Year debut, executive producer Brigie de Courcy said it's a "brand new Fair City" but they hope it "replicates the feeling of what Carrigstown is".
She described the set as "this rather fabulous new lot that we have been working on for a long time".
"We started planning around six or eight years ago," she explained. "We knew that the old lot - which was designed really in a piecemeal sort of a way, 29 years ago - was never going to be completely fit for purpose.
"This is a massive investment from RTÉ into Fair City for the future. It is just fantastic."
Take a look at photos of some Fair City cast members on the new set here
The producer, who previously worked on EastEnders and Emmerdale, joked that there were some inherent difficulties with a working set being located within the RTÉ campus, saying: "Lots of staff come down and forget that it's a working set - they come down and try the doors and check the props!"
The new and improved set means the show will be able to be broadcast in HD and there will be the opportunity to shoot 360 degrees for the first time.
"This is a brand new Fair City. What's going to be bizarre for those of you who know it really well is that it doesn't look terribly different, but we have made massive changes and we've added additional areas," de Courcy explained.
"By and large, what we're really hoping is that it replicates the feeling of what Carrigstown is."
Two new streets have been added to the Carrigstown footprint, Ballantine Road and Hessian Lane, while favourite locations such as McCoy's pub, the Library Apartment and the Community Centre have all been improved. Elsewhere in Carrigstown, The Hungry Pig has undergone a complete refurbishment.
For the first time in 29 years shooting the soap, viewers can see outside Hessian Arcade where Brewzers is located and also the brand new Molloy's Motors on Ballantine Road, which will first be seen on screens on January 3.
There is also a new area of the park, which includes a coffee shop called Peggy's Tea Room. Filming in certain directions in the park can be difficult, due to the prominence of the RTÉ mast.
De Courcy added of the new set: "The new set represents an exciting chapter in Fair City's history and comes as we are in the flow of our 30th season.
"The amazing new set is full of dramatic potential and our extremely talented design team have excelled themselves - but it still manages to have the feeling of always having been there, just with a little something extra."
Fair City airs Tuesday - Thursday and Sunday on RTÉ One at 8pm.
Catch up on Fair City on the RTÉ Player.
