F***adoodledoo, there’s Michelle!” This is how Jamie-Lee O’Donnell – the actor who’s become synonymous with her profane Derry Girls character – is often greeted in the street. Usually, in a strong, not-always-convincing, Northern Irish accent. O’Donnell loves it. The Bafta-winning show that made her name – and imbued her with such a coarse vocabulary – may have ended 15 months ago, but the impressions will likely go on forever. “Everybody tries to do the Derry accent, and if I’m outside of Ireland, people always give it a wee go,” the 36-year-old says. “It’s really, really hard to do. But I’ve heard some brilliant ones.”
Derry Girls, Lisa McGee’s Nineties-set comedy about a gang of Northern Irish schoolgirls and one “wee English fella” living through the Troubles, became the most-watched series in Northern Ireland since modern records began in 2002. Over the course of its three-season run, from 2018 to 2022, the sitcom reshaped perceptions of Derry. Finding pockets of joy in traumatic times, it was by turns anarchic and bittersweet, bringing a female narrative to a conflict so overwhelmingly focused on men. By the time it ended last year, the show had won three Baftas. Critics, by and large, adored it; Martin Scorsese and Hillary Clinton (the latter’s daughter Chelsea even had a cameo in the finale) were among the show’s most famous fans.
