The debut of Sex and the City follow-up And Just Like That has been one of the most hotly-anticipated TV events of the year – and it’s fair to say that the new season starts with a bang.
The very first episode of the show includes a huge shock, as a major character is killed off in heartbreaking circumstances.
Mr Big (Chris Noth), who had been the main love interest of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie during the original run, suffered a fatal heart attack while taking a spin on his Peloton – with Carrie discovering his body when she returned from watching Charlotte’s (Kristin Davis) daughter’s piano recital.
And the death was made all the more tragic by the fact that the early scenes had shown Carrie and Big’s relationship to be in a very healthy place, with the two revealed to be very much in love.
Big’s heart problems were not completely unknown to fans, having first been introduced towards the end of the original run when the character returned to New York for an operation.
And indeed prior to the series airing, there had been several rumours that Big would die during the course of the run, although it will no doubt still come as a shock just how early the tragedy occurs.
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There had also been lots more speculation about what the reboot might hold for the couple: a previously leaked script had revealed that there would be a rift between the pair, although this has now proven to be inaccurate.
Earlier this week, stars Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis revealed that they had deliberately filmed some “fake scenes” in order to throw fans off the scent.
Speaking during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Davis explained: “We want the fans to enjoy the show. I think that’s the important part. You know, like, we don’t want them to know… we don’t want them to read the Cliffs Notes beforehand!”