US President Donald Trump has phoned Roseanne Barr to congratulate her on the revival of her Roseanne sitcom, which was a huge ratings success, according to a report.

Mr Trump wanted to personally reach out to Barr, after the reboot of her iconic sitcom drew 18.2 million viewers in its debut in the US on Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told The New York Times.

A source said the president was impressed by the “huge” ratings of Roseanne, which features Barr playing her alter-ego Roseanne Conner — a Trump supporter, like the actress is in real life.

The show, which returned to US screens after more than two decades, sent fans into a frenzy.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two episodes averaged a 5.1 rating in the key demographic coming in at 18.1 million viewers, making it the “highest-rated regularly-scheduled scripted show of the last few seasons, as well as the highest-rated sitcom in recent memory”.

“I am so grateful to the fans of the Roseanne show for giving it a good premiere rating,” Barr tweeted. “You are all wonderful — here is to making America laugh & talk again! LOVE U.”

The show depicted Barr as a Trump supporter at odds with her Hillary Clinton-supporting sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalfe).

“I’ve always tried to have it be a true reflection of the society we live in,” the 65-year-old said of the show in January.

Barr said Mr Trump is not the first US President she has had the honour of speaking with.