McDonald's fans elated as Grimace Shake lands in UK

McDonald's fans can finally try a much-anticipated shake that went viral when it launched in America last year.

The Grimace Shake drink is inspired by the fast food chain's purple Grimace mascot, who was first introduced in the 1970s.

Initially an evil character who stole milkshakes from customers, the US drink sparked a social media frenzy with people sharing videos of themselves trying the shake, before cutting to them in a sorry state after being accosted by him.

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He's since been rebranded as a more friendly cartoon, but the arrival of the shake in UK stores from August 28 will no doubt bring a flurry of similar videos to TikTok and the like.

As for the shake itself, it's purple and features a blueberry-flavoured syrup blended with a creamy milkshake base.

"Have one very excited 8 year old right now," said one mum on a McDonald's fan page. "My daughter's already begged for one," said another.

It won't be around for long though, as it's only available for the next week, until September 4. Medium costs £2.69 and large £2.99, although price can vary depending on location.

It's one of a number of new products hitting stores over the coming weeks as the company celebrates its 50th birthday in the UK.

The Chicken Big Mac, Philly Cheese Stack and Mozzarella Dippers are all making a return from September 4 and it's also launching a brand new Twix Latte, a smooth latte blended with a Twix-flavour syrup, topped with caramel cream and Twix crumb.

Fans will also be able to get their hands on two new McFlurry flavours - Galaxy Chocolate and Twix.