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Audiences react to first episode of The Secret

A scene from the first episode of The Secret, telling the the chilling story of dentist Colin Howell and lover Hazel Stewart who murdered their spouses
A scene from the first episode of The Secret, telling the the chilling story of dentist Colin Howell and lover Hazel Stewart who murdered their spouses A scene from the first episode of The Secret, telling the the chilling story of dentist Colin Howell and lover Hazel Stewart who murdered their spouses

AUDIENCES have been reacting to the long awaited television dramatisation of one of the north's most notorious murder cases.

The Secret, the chilling story of dentist Colin Howell and his lover Hazel Stewart who murdered their spouses, hit TV screens tonight.

Viewers were quick to share their opinion of the much anticipated series with many commenting on social media that they were "hooked" already.

However, others said it was in "poor taste" and it was "too soon" to be creating a drama based on the murders of Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan in Co Derry in 1991.

The drama, based on the book by Deric Henderson, tells the real-life story of Coleraine dentist Howell's affair with Hazel Stewart, previously Buchanan, which led to them to kill their spouses and make it look like suicide.

The former lovers' murderous pact was not discovered until almost 20 years after the killings.

Howell and Stewart were both jailed for life for the murders.

The series was shot on location in Coleraine and Castlerock, in some cases the exact spot where the accomplices planned their chilling crimes.

Starring Coleraine actor James Nesbitt as Howell, the first episode set the scene for the four-part series, tracing the murderous pair’s initial meeting at their local Baptist church and how they embarked on a passionate affair.

The church and the pastor's influence in the close-knit middle-class community was also explored last night with Genevieve O’Reilly, who plays Stewart, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Sunday school teacher.

The series is set to develop on how they carried out Howell's plan to kill Lesley and Trevor, through to the inquests into their deaths, his eventual confession and the subsequent murder trial.

The series proved popular prompting a flurry of comments on social media.

One viewer wrote on Twitter that she was "hooked, looking forward to part two next week".

Another viewer described it as "unbelievably chilling stuff".

However, others were not as impressed with one woman commenting that it "should never have been made".

"I wonder if James Nesbitt's sister/brother had been murdered would he have accepted the part, not only way too soon should never have been made," she added.

Another woman said: "Agreed, in poor taste and way too soon in any case".

However, another social media user said: "There would probably never be a good time though".