Hugely popular show from EastEnders boss is back on our TV screens after four years

Red Rock
-Credit: (Image: Company Pictures for TV3 with all3media International)


A gritty soap is now available to stream in its entirety - and it has a huge EastEnders link. Irish show Red Rock is back on our screens after being acquired by streaming service STV Player. Having originally aired on Virgin Media in Ireland between 2015 and 2020, the show has 117 episodes - and they’re now all available to watch for free.

Set in a seaside town, Red Rock follows the lives of the characters who work at the local Garda station as well as those living in the area. The series is filled with plenty of drama, with the first episode introducing viewers at home to the Kiely and Hennessy families - who are the town’s two feuding groups.

Red Rock
Red Rock is now available to watch on STV Player -Credit:TV3

The Irish soap is created by Peter McKenna, who is behind the BBC thriller Kin. John Yorke, who is a former EastEnders producer, also worked as an executive producer and writer on the show, while Shaun Williamson, who is known as playing Barry Evans in EastEnders, wrote one episode.

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Red Rock also features a star-studded cast including Richard Flood, who is known for appearing in Grey’s Anatomy, Shameless and Crossing Lines. Conor Mullen, Sean Mahon, and Cathy Belton appear in the show too.

Chris Clenshaw, John Yorke, Mark Catley and Sharon Batten
John Yorke worked as an executive producer and writer on the show -Credit:Guy Levy/BAFTA via Getty Images

Speaking of the acquisition by STV Player, Richard Williams, Managing Director of Digital at STV, praised the show’s dramatic storylines and characters. “From the incredible response we’ve had to relaunching Brookside, we know our viewers love a brilliantly written drama with multi-dimensional characters, unpredictable plotlines and just the right combination of grit and warmth, so STV Player is the perfect home for Red Rock in the UK,” he said in a statement.

Red Rock isn’t the only show to hit our screens and serve us plenty of drama. Last month the BBC officially confirmed an “unmissable” celebrity edition of The Traitors was in the works, following months of speculation.

Chris Clenshaw, Sharon Batten, Mark Catley and John Yorke
John was previously a producer on EastEnders -Credit:Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

The exciting news was announced at Edinburgh Fringe Festival on Thursday, 22 August where it was revealed that the nine-part series would be dropping on BBC and iPlayer after season three aired, which has already been filmed in the Scottish Highlands with host Claudia Winkleman.

Discussing the show, BBC head of entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight said: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level. It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!”

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