Northern Ireland

Coronavirus delays Derry Girls third series to 2022

Derry girls, and the "wee English fella", from left: James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), Erin Quinn (Saoirse Jackson), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland) and Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan)
Derry girls, and the "wee English fella", from left: James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), Erin Quinn (Saoirse Jackson), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland) and Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan) Derry girls, and the "wee English fella", from left: James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), Erin Quinn (Saoirse Jackson), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland) and Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan)

THE eagerly-awaited third series of Derry Girls has been put back until 2022.

Channel 4 confirmed to The Irish News that the latest adventures of Erin Quinn and her friends have been delayed again due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first two series of Lisa McGee's comedy brought the Derry Girls and foul-mouthed Michelle’s English cousin James up to the historic 1995 visit to Derry by US President Bill Clinton.

Writing for the third series was completed and filming had been expected to take place last spring, with a possible broadcast late last year, but the March lockdown brought all production work to a halt.

A spokesman for Channel 4 has now confirmed the anticipated broadcast date for the third series is next year.

Derry Girls focuses on the lives of teenagers Michelle and friends Erin, Clare, Orla and James as they grow up in Troubles-era Derry.

The show’s first series proved an immediate hit, breaking Channel 4 audience figures and winning a raft of awards, and it has also won an international fanbase through the Netflix platform.

While production has now been held up, the stars have remained busy.

Galway actor Nicola Coughlan (who plays Clare Devlin) is one of the breakout stars of new Netflix production Bridgerton, playing the youngest member of a London Regency-era family, while Siobhán McSweeney (karate-loving Sister Michael) has appeared in two short films, The Widow and Scrubber, and Ian McElhinney (Granda Joe) was in an episode of Dr Who.

The entire cast also took part in RTÉ Does Comic Relief along with Holywood star Saoirse Ronan.