THE FIRST EPISODE of the new series of RTÉ’s Reeling in the Years drew in over half a million viewers last night.

The highly-anticipated episode, featuring some not-so-fond memories of the EU-IMF bailout of Ireland and 2010′s austerity budget, was watched last night by an average audience of 515,000 viewers.

Other notable headlines last night included the big freeze across Ireland, an Icelandic ‘ash cloud’ that brought travel chaos, and the tragic death of broadcaster Gerry Ryan. 

Despite the gloomy lookback, RTÉ said last night’s show had “an incredible” 49.2% share among 15 to 34-year-olds.

The new decade (2010-2019) is being recapped each Sunday on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.

The clip show was first made in 1999 and featured the events of the 1980s. It has since spawned a further four series, with episodes now covering each year from 1962 to 2009.

Repeats have been among the most-watched programmes on the national broadcaster and it was previously voted by readers of the RTÉ guide as the “most popular home-produced TV show ever”.

Last night’s episode was just pipped at the rating post by the Nine O’Clock News - 518,000 viewers tuned in ahead of Covid-19 restrictions easing today for the first time this year.