Derry Girls have ‘long overdue’ plans for reunion dinner, says Nicola Coughlan
By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter
Irish actress Nicola Coughlan has revealed she and her Derry Girls co-stars have “long overdue” plans for a reunion dinner.
The Bridgerton star, 37, who joins the cast of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, played Clare in the comedy set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Speaking about a possible reunion with her co-stars, she told Radio Times: “Louisa Harland and I talk all the time – she was at my house the other day. But otherwise everyone’s been so busy!
“I actually have a bottle of champagne that we were given on the wrap of series one, and I keep saying I’m going to have them all around for dinner, and we’re going to toast Siobhan McSweeney’s Bafta win. It’s so long overdue.”
McSweeney, 44, won the female performance in a comedy Bafta TV award in 2023 for her role playing Sister Michael in the hit series following the lives of a group of teenage friends.
The show, also starring Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Dylan Llewellyn, ran for three series, finishing in 2022.
Coughlan also discussed the festive episode of Doctor Who, which follows her character Joy as she opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel where she discovers “danger, dinosaurs and the Doctor”, according to a description from the BBC.
She said: “I didn’t grow up with Doctor Who. In my house in Ireland, we only had the two Irish channels, no BBC, so it wasn’t in my day-to-day.
“When they asked me, I was super-keen. But when I tried to do the research, I thought: ‘Oh my God … this is a full universe’.
“I was kind of overwhelmed. But then I thought the thing to do would be just try to do my best acting and hopefully make the Who fans happy.”
In the special, Coughlan stars opposite Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa, who first appeared in his role as the Time Lord during the last instalment of the 60th anniversary episodes in 2023.
Read the full interview in the Radio Times Christmas issue.
