Under Construction. Will be completed 22/10/2026

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Nicola Coughlan (Clare Devlin): from Derry to the Ton

Nicola Coughlan has had the biggest post-Derry Girls career of anyone. She was already playing Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, and in 2024 she led series 3 alongside Luke Newton. She returned for series 4 in 2026.

She also co-leads Channel 4’s Big Mood with Lydia West, playing Maggie, a writer with bipolar disorder. The show earned her a first BAFTA nomination, and series 2 arrived on 16 April 2026.

Other recent credits:

• Doctor Who: Joy to the World (2024), the Christmas special opposite Ncuti Gatwa
• I Am Helen, a two-part Channel 4 drama from Dominic Savage
• The Magic Faraway Tree (March 2026), as Silky, alongside Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy
• GOAT (2026), Sony Pictures Animation’s animal sports comedy
• Only Murders in the Building series 6, where she joins David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker as a recurring guest

Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Erin Quinn): superheroes, plague comedy and gangsters

Saoirse-Monica Jackson made her big-screen debut in DC’s The Flash (2023), then moved into a run of very different TV roles.

• The Doll Factory (Paramount+), a Victorian thriller
• The Decameron (Netflix, 2024), a camp period comedy set during the plague
• This City Is Ours (BBC One, 2025), playing Cheryl Crawford in the Liverpool gangster drama with Sean Bean
• How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (Netflix, 2026), a recurring role as Feeney in Lisa McGee’s new series, a reunion with her Derry Girls creator
• Harry Potter full-cast audiobooks (Audible, 2026)

She is also a schools ambassador for the Derry charity Children in Crossfire.

Louisa Harland (Orla McCool): Renegade Nell and the West End

Louisa Harland landed the title role in Sally Wainwright’s Disney+ adventure Renegade Nell (2024). She plays an 18th-century woman framed for murder who becomes England’s most famous highwaywoman.

She went straight from that premiere to the stage, appearing opposite Brian Cox in Long Day’s Journey Into Night in the West End. Since then:

• The Walsh Sisters (RTÉ/BBC, 2025), the Marian Keyes adaptation
• A Woman’s Work (2026), a film role as Jolene Harper
• Transcendental Wild Oats (BBC Radio 4, February 2026), playing Louisa May Alcott

Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Michelle Mallon): prison drama to feel-good comedy

Jamie-Lee O’Donnell went home first, fronting the Channel 4 documentary The Real Derry about growing up in the city. She also plays prison officer Rose in Screw, the Channel 4 prison drama filmed in Glasgow.

Her latest big role is Shelley in Leonard and Hungry Paul, the BBC and RTÉ adaptation of Rónán Hession’s novel. She stars with Alex Lawther and Laurie Kynaston, and Julia Roberts narrates.

She has also presented World’s Most Dangerous Roads (2023), and has said she has been living in Barcelona for over a year.

Dylan Llewellyn (James Maguire): the wee English fella turns copper

Dylan Llewellyn has stayed busiest in British comedy and drama. He starred as Jack in Channel 4’s Big Boys, and played guitarist Wally Nightingale in Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols series Pistol (2022).

His highest-profile role now is PC Kelby Hartford in the BBC’s Death in Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise, opposite Kris Marshall. He joined the cast at MCM London Comic Con in May 2026 for a Beyond Paradise reunion panel.

Sister Michael, Da Gerry and Lisa McGee

Siobhán McSweeney (Sister Michael) won a BAFTA for the role and has become a presenting favourite. She hosts The Great Pottery Throw Down and fronted Exploring Northern Ireland with Siobhán McSweeney for More4, a country she had never visited before Derry Girls. Her acting credits since include Spud (2024) and Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue (2025).

Tommy Tiernan (Da Gerry) still hosts The Tommy Tiernan Show on RTÉ One, and is touring Ireland through autumn and winter 2026 with his World Tour of Westmeath stand-up show.

Lisa McGee (creator) returned with How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, a Netflix comedy thriller released on 12 February 2026. It follows three childhood friends in their late 30s, played by Roísín Gallagher, Sinéad Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne, and reunites much of the Derry Girls crew, including director Michael Lennox.

Will there be a Derry Girls movie?

Nothing has been confirmed. In 2026 Saoirse-Monica Jackson told the Dish podcast she would love to make a film and that revisiting the characters later could be more interesting. She was clear the decision is Lisa McGee’s, joking she would read the ingredients of a Pot Noodle if McGee asked.

For now, all three series and the finale special are streaming on Channel 4 and Netflix.

Derry Girls cast FAQ

When did Derry Girls end? The third and final series aired in 2022, ending with a feature-length special in May 2022.

Which Derry Girls star is the most famous now? Nicola Coughlan, thanks to leading Bridgerton series 3 and starring in Big Mood, Doctor Who and The Magic Faraway Tree.

Are the Derry Girls cast friends in real life? Yes. The cast have often spoken about staying close since filming ended.