More than 330,000 local people watched The Secret last night and bore witness to driller killer dentist Colin Howell as he drugged his mistress to stop her feeling guilt during sex.
For the last three weeks, viewers in Northern Ireland have had a date with UTV at 9pm to watch James Nesbitt and Genevieve O'Reilly play twisted lovers Colin Howell and Hazel Stewart.
The depiction of the true life love affair between the dentist and his mistress, nursery school teacher Hazel Stewart - then Buchanan - and the subsequent murders of their innocent spouses has already attracted around 12 millions viewers across the UK so far.
Numbers peaked 337,000 viewers last night with a whopping 57% share in Northern Ireland and with the series' popularity now hitting the big time on Gogglebox, the programme attracted 4.3million views or a 21% share of thre telly-watching public.
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The Secret was the most watched programme in UK from 9pm to 10pm and closer to home it was the most watched programme all night.
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Colin Howell is claiming to his lawyer that he has not watched his character on TV despite claims from prison staff at Maghaberry jail that he was glued to the telly.
And if he had watched last night he would have seen how his dysfunctional relationship with his former lover kept them together, before they were eventually torn apart.
Howell and Stewart murdered their spouses on the night of May 18/19, 1991.
Coleraine man Nesbitt, 51, says he believes Howell, now 57, was devastated when the relationship finally ended.
He explained: “I think he was very much in love with her.”
“Their sexual chemistry was very combustible. It was interesting to explore how wickedness and evil can flourish under the cover of religion.
“I don’t think Colin ever forgave Hazel for leaving him. For his life to be perfect, he wanted to be a very successful dentist, a pillar of the church community and a wonderful family man.
"I think power, money and a level of psychopathy were Colin's motivations for the murders.
"I would have loved to have met Colin, because I would have asked him why he confessed. I think he might have come to regret that decision."
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After the murders of police constable Trevor Buchanan, 32, and nurse Lesley Howell, 31, the affair between the killers continued for up to five years.
And when Stewart complained that she was racked with "Christian guilt" about the extramarital affair, Howell’s solution was to inject her with drugs to ensure she lost consciousness.
On one occasion he feared he might have killed her with an accidental overdose.
At the time of Stewart's 15 day trial in Coleraine, Trevor McAuley, a fellow church member who dated Stewart for several years after she eventually broke up with Howell, told the jury she had told him about Howell.
Mr McAuley told the court: “He would administer the drug to her and she would pass out and she would really know nothing about it until the morning when she woke up.
“He could enjoy sexual gratification with her without her feeling the guilt of it while he was able to have pleasure.
“I remember her saying what a nice feeling it was as she drifted off.”
He added: “On one occasion he almost overdid it and gave her too much and he was actually concerned if he was going to get her to come round again.”
Howell also drugged his wife with sleeping pills to knock her out allowing him to meet his lover under the pretext of going jogging behind her house.
And he encouraged his lover to drug her husband on the might of his murder.
Then Howell gassed both victims and made their deaths appear like a joint suicide pact.
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More than 7million people have watched the first two parts of The Secret and millions more are expected to turn on tonight.
After the second episode of The Secret aired, we revealed the 15 vital clues RUC detectives overlooked that pointed to the murders.
And we revealed how nearly two decades after the double murders of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell, the PSNI issued an apology to their families for the failures and shortcomings of the 1991 investigation.
READ NEXT:
James Nesbitt reveals his real-life connection with killer dentist Colin Howell
Colin Howell's ex-wife breaks her silence over double killer dentist
Killer Colin Howell's £587k pension axed after convictions for groping patients
The Secret: Colin Howell finally confessed to evil murders after death of son Matthew
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