In 2016, Nicola Coughlan stepped onto the set of Derry Girls for the very first time. No one had a clue who Clare Devlin was - although many had a friend like her, or at the very least, knew someone like Clare at school.
However, the Bridgerton and Derry Girls star recently confirmed how she will have a "reduced" role in the news series. The Galway-born actress said filming commitments for the popular Netflix period drama series meant it was hard for her to return to Derry Girls in the same way as before.
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Speaking to the press recently, she said: "Last year was really difficult. I won't lie because, you know, at the best of times trying to manage different projects, it's such a push and pull.
"We were meant to film Derry Girls in January 2021. And I was totally free and they decided to push it again.
"And that caused me insane stress because I was on what in the industry is called first call. So it means you have to go and do the show that you're on first call to, which was Bridgerton. And I was like 'Guys, can we just film it?'"
Because she was on first call for Bridgerton, it meant she had to sacrifice a lot of filming time for Derry Girls. Nicola says the Derry Girls team were understanding, though.
She added: "And they were like, 'No, we're gonna wait.' And I was like, 'oh', so we had to make compromises happen in the script of Derry Girls. It was devastating to me because I wanted to be in all of this."
"But compromises had to be made. And you know, they had to cut down my role somewhat, which was hard. Really, really hard. But I think, you know, the fans of the show are going to be happy."
Nicola promised Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee had delivered a "really nice sign-off" for the fans. When the show returns soon, viewers will be able to see for themselves.
Derry Girls will air on Channel 4 at 9:15pm on Tuesday, April 12
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