4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
RTE's Fair City gets Lidl makeover as supermarket opens first-ever Carrigstown store in major TV deal
RTE's Fair City is set to go full Lidl as the supermarket is opening its first-ever store in the heart of Carrigstown.
Earlier this year it was announced that
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Lidl signed a three year deal with RTE's long-running soap
Credit: Lafayette Photography
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Renee Phelan, played by Una Crawford O'Brien, will step into her new role as Lidl's on-screen Store Manager
Credit: Handout
The brand new
The fictional store has been built with a realistic Lidl interior and exterior designed by the retailer.
Designed to exacting standards to fit the requirements of the show's set, Lidl Carrigstown will include key store features such as a modern welfare area for employees.
The store will also feature customer favourites like the much-loved bakery, a deposit return machine and EV charging points.
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Transforming the show's local supermarket,
The major brand partnership marks Ireland's largest broadcast product placement to date and is expected to reach over 700,000 viewers weekly, with an extra 100,000 tuning in on RTE Player.
To mark the huge launch, Fair City character Renee Phelan, played by Una Crawford O'Brien, stepped into her new role as Lidl's on-screen Store Manager.
She was joined by Lidl ambassador and
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The partnership comes as Lidl celebrates 25 years in Ireland and the brand says the collaboration will "embed Lidl amongst key audiences" while adding something fresh to the iconic Irish soap.
Fair City, which first debuted on RTE in September 1989, is Ireland's longest running drama series.
Tonight's Fair City
Broadcasting four new episodes per week on RTE One, the series delves into the daily lives, relationships, and challenges of its residents.
In a recent episode of the hit show, Renee's uniform caught most viewers' attention and they raced to
Sinead tweeted: "Excuse me, is Renee in a Lidl uniform. Did it open? Did I miss it?"
Ciara said: "A Lidl bit of advertising there."
Pamela joked: "Is this going to be a costume party?"
NEW IN TOWN
Another viewer added: "Lol the Lidl shirt."
Separately, the
The old Fair City studio is set for the chopping block as builders have moved in to tear down the set.
Cairn Homes has commenced works on the first phase of its €345million, 608-unit apartment scheme in Donnybrook.
The old set, which had been in use for over 30 years, will be demolished over the next few months.
The beloved set which included fan favourite's such as McCoys, The Hungry Pig and Phelan's will now be turned into a brand-new
Fair City moved to a new set in 2019 following the €107.5m sale of just under nine acres of land at the station's headquarters to Cairn Homes.
