Waiting ends as fans see show finale

After six years and a string of awards, hit television show Sex and the City comes to an end in the USA today.

But millions of Irish viewers will have to wait another four weeks to see the final antics of Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes.

The show, starring Sarah Jessica Parker as newspaper columnist Carrie, has followed the lives of the four professional women looking for love in New York City.

The final episode has been kept a closely guarded secret in the US for several weeks but it will be impossible to prevent UK fans from discovering the fate of the glamorous four before the last show goes out here on March 19.

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said it was inevitable that viewers would find out the ending.

“Viewers can look on the HBO website after the final episode is screened in the US,” she said.

“And, of course, there will be screen grabs in the papers – it’s inevitable the ending will come out.”

This will not stop the show’s three million UK fans tuning in, she said.

“Everyone still plugs in. People want to see it for themselves.”

“You only hear or see snippets but watching it on screen is a completely different experience,” she added.

UK viewers were stunned on Friday when lawyer Miranda, played by Cynthia Nixon, decided to swap Manhattan for the Brooklyn suburbs to make a new life with new husband Steve and their baby, Brady.

Samantha (Kim Cattrall) started her battle with cancer by undergoing chemotherapy treatment and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry’s (Evan Handler) quest to conceive continued in vain.

The last few episodes are to centre around Carrie’s love life.

UK viewers have yet to see the return of the wealthy Mr Big, played by Chris Noth, as he tries to woo Carrie back from Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov).

Ahead of the climax Carrie is to follow Aleks to Paris. But Mr Big hears of her plan and follows her, and it seems she will face a decision in Paris.

Parker is remaining tight-lipped about the ending.

“We made a decision and I hope people understand why,” she said. “I hope people will feel that Carrie is loved and loving, and that she feels contentment.”

The last days of filming in Manhattan were tearful for Parker, who decided to quit the show after becoming pregnant.

But although the HBO drama is coming to an end there is talk of a movie, which would be sure to be a blockbuster.

Top series executive Michael Patrick King is understood to be in talks with the show’s cast and HBO about the prospect of a film.

During its six-year run Sex and the City has won six Emmy awards and eight Golden Globes.

It has commanded an international following, with millions of viewers worldwide.

Its shock value and frank sexual content guaranteed the show big publicity when it began.

Carrie asked on the first episode: “Can women have sex like men?”

The on-screen chemistry between the co-stars also won a big female following.

The final episode is to be followed by an hour-long documentary celebrating the show.

Sex and the City parties are being planned around the UK to mark the end of an era.