Northern Ireland

'Life imitates art' as Derry Girls stars join Fatboy Slim on stage during gig

Derry Girls stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell with Fatboy Slim at Saturday's gig. Picture: Fatboy Slim/X
Derry Girls stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell with Fatboy Slim at Saturday's gig. Picture: Fatboy Slim/X

Two stars of Derry Girls joined dance music legend Fatboy Slim on stage at his north-west gig in a surprise appearance that served as a nod to the show's finale.

The producer, real name Norman Cook, played at Derry's new Unit 8 Warehouse venue on Saturday.

During the performance, Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, who play Erin Quinn and Michelle Mallon in Derry Girls, joined the star behind the turntables to the delight of thousands of fans, and blasted rave horns while dancing along to the music.

In the Derry Girls finale, which was screened last year and brought to an end three seasons of the hit Lisa McGee-created comedy, the characters chased down tickets to a 1997 Fatboy Slim gig in Derry's St Columb's Hall.

The episode saw Saoirse-Monica Jackson's character describe the Praise You star as "bigger than God" and "a modern-day Beethoven".

In a social media post on Sunday, the artist said of the previous night's gig: "Life imitates art as the Derry Girls join me onstage, in Derry."

Gig organisers Jika Jika said the show was an "iconic evening" for the city.