Liam Neeson made a surprise appearance in the hit comedy series Derry Girls on Tuesday night.
The Oscar-nominated Northern Irish actor, 69, played a police inspector in the returning Channel 4 sitcom, questioning the show’s main characters about a burglary at their school.
The show’s creator Lisa McGee tweeted after the episode that they had a code name for Neeson on set which was “the big fella”, a secret she admitted was arguably quite “easily cracked”.
“What an honour to have him in our wee show,” she added. “Our very own Northern Star.”
The show, set in Derry in the 1990s, returned for the first episode of its third and final season on Tuesday. McGee has previously confirmed that the third series of the comedy will be the last.
Speaking at the series premiere earlier this month, she said it was a huge moment for her when the sitcom was referenced in an episode of The Simpsons recently.
“I was a big Simpsons fan in the 90s, so it blew my mind, I can’t believe that happened,” she told PA Media. “That and the mural [in Derry] were my two moments.”
She was also keen to heap praise on Channel 4 for the support the show received in its early stages and said she “probably would not exist” as a comedy writer without it.
McGee is quoted as saying at the premiere event: “I probably wouldn’t exist as a comedy writer [without Channel 4].
“I had a career writing drama but they really invested in my voice as a comedy writer which is what I am now most known for.”
It comes as the government announced plans to privatise the broadcaster, which has been publicly owned since it was founded in 1982 and is funded by advertising.
