RTE have released the very first episode on their online player in celebration of Fair City’s 25th anniversary.
And it’s clear from watching just how much the show has grown over the years.
Veteran cast member Tom Jordan – who has played Charlie Murphy since the show began – told Goss.ie how he never expected it to last more than six weeks.
“When it first started it was only a six week contract, and it wasn’t even called fair city it was called Urban Drama, which was a working title.
“There was talk at that time of the programme not going any further because it cost so much money, we had no studios we did everything on location.”
Old-timer: Tom – who plays Charlie – on the right in one of the show’s scenes | RTE
“I remember filming on O’Connell Bridge at 9 o’clock in the morning. You’d no control over it.
“The main outdoor stuff was done up in Drumcondra in a housing estate which was on the flight path into Dublin airport so you can imagine how hard it was to film.
“It used to take hours, we’d be there until 1am. Then [Executive Producer] Niall Matthews came on board and convinced them to build us studios, and then to built the lot. It’s grown so much over the years.”
