Derry girls
Derry Girls, set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, was one of the most talked about comedies of last year, so there are high expectations for its second series. Georgia Humphreys reports
You know a TV programme has been a hit when a huge mural of its cast is unveiled in the city it’s set in. And that’s not the only measure of Derry Girls’ mighty success. Following its launch at the start of 2018, it became Channel 4’s highestrated comedy for over a decade.
Inspired by the experiences of Londonderry-born creator Lisa Mcgee who has also penned dramas Jump and Raw - the candid family-centred show follows 16-year-old wannabe writer Erin, played by Saoirse-monica Jackson, and her friends as they grow up in the 1990s during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
We caught up with Saoirse-monica and some of her co-stars - Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan and Dylan Llewellyn - about returning for series two.
BIGGER AND BOLDER
With the show becoming a phenomenon not just at home - it’s the most watched show ever in Northern Ireland - but also worldwide since landing on Netflix, it is fair to say there were some nerves ahead of reading the new scripts.
“I was petrified we were going to come back completely different,” says Derry native Saoirse-monica, while Louisa, who plays Erin’s whimsical and eccentric cousin orla, adds: “There is a fear of overdoing it.”
But there was no reason to be worried. “We got into the swing of it straightaway,” says Dylan, the actor behind James, the English cousin of party-loving Michelle (played by Jamie-lee o’donnell), who has the misfortune of being the only boy at an all-girls convent school.
“We are so comfortable, we know each other so well now.”
other than more mad antics, what can we expect from the new episodes?
“Derry at that time, there’s a lot of stories to tell,” says Saoirse-monica, “and Lisa has definitely got braver with her writing.”
“Siobhan Mcsweeney (who plays Sister Michael) said it’s like series one was amazing, but series two is like everything in technicolor,” says Galway-born Nicola, who portrays Clare - arguably the most sensible member of the gang.
“It’s really nice because you don’t have to do any of the exposition this time, you know the five characters and the family as well.”
LIFE-CHANGING JOB
When it comes to the impact these roles have had on the lives of the down-toearth stars, who were all relatively unknown before Derry Girls, Dylan says “it’s not really sunk in yet”.
“The weirdest was Louisa and I went to New York two to three weeks ago and we walked into a pub and the girl behind the bar went, ‘My girl orla!’ and came over and hugged us both and sent us shots,” recalls a giggly Nicola.
There are many memorable lines from the first series and the cast have all experienced people shouting out quotes to them.
“I get grannies and mums wanting to give me a hug because Clare is like the kid you wish you had,” says Nicola.
“She’s very studious and dresses like a giant baby, and something resonates with the mums and the grannies.”
POIGNANT MATERIAL
The characters are shown living through the Northern Ireland conflict and, seeing armed police roaming the streets and British Army checkpoints on the way to school, is for many of us an unimaginable situation.
It’s also a period of history not particularly touched on in British schools.
“[The Troubles] was all we learned in history, it was shoved down our throats, we learned all about it,” says Dubliner Louisa when asked if they’re shocked to hear some viewers weren’t educated on The Troubles.
“I was so surprised that wasn’t touched on majorly in the rest of the uk’s schools.”
“Yeah, it was mad,” Nicola agrees. “Dylan and I will go on Twitter and check the responses and see what people are saying, and people are being like, ‘I knew nothing about The Troubles and now I’ve fallen down a Wikipedia hole.’
“It’s amazing the show has opened that up. It’s a real pity that it’s not taught [across Britain].”
Saoirse-monica says The Troubles isn’t widely part of the Northern Irish education system either.
“obviously, you’re taught it from living there and your surroundings,” she says.
“There’s not many shows from the north, and never mind for this story to be told in a humorous light.”
FORWARD-THINKING
Not only is the show pioneering in the way it shines a light on such a fraught, turbulent period of recent history, it’s also been applauded for being a femaleled show.
Louisa says there was a “genuine fear” among creator Lisa and the actors that it would not be as successful as a show about boys might be.
But the fact they are representing just how funny women are is something the cast is clearly proud of.
“Filming this season we shot a scene that had 11 women-speaking parts in one scene, which has never been done before in a comedy,” says Louisa.
“To hear that that’s not been done before is shocking, but it’s also just great to be part of the movement.”
The kinds of characters they play are refreshing to see on screen, too, and there are elements they recognise in their younger selves.
“Like not caring so much about what you look like, and not caring so much about what you say or caring about what other people think,” says Louisa.
“That want, as well, to be heard, and that want to be individual,” says Saoirsemonica.
“That’s such a famous line from the show: ‘Look, I wanted to be an individual but my ma wouldn’t let me.’
“That’s definitely what it feels like when you are a teenager.” DERRY GIRLS RETURNS TO CHANNEL 4 ON TUESDAY MARCH 5