IT'S FINALLY happening.
After a long, long wait-- made even longer thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions-- Derry Girls series 3 has finally started filming today.
Erin, James, Orla and Michelle-- as well as the array of recurring characters that have captured the hearts of people across Ireland and beyond-- are back in character today as filming finally begins on the long-awaited series of one of Channel 4's most popular shows.
One person missing from the big reunion today, however, is Nicola Coughlan, who plays Clare Devlin in the hit show.
This is because Galway-born actress Nicola Coughlan is wrapping up filming series 2 of the global phenomenon that is Bridgerton, Netflix's most popular original series ever.
Don't worry though, as Coughlan will be back for series 3: as she explained to a fan on Twitter, Derry Girls will first film scenes that don't involve Clare, and "the moment I wrap I’ll take of the corset and get back into the green uniform".
The excitement for the newest season is even further heightened after creator Lisa McGee last week announced that the next series of Derry Girls would be the last.
The Derry native promised audiences "one last adventure" but said she had always envisioned the show to last just three seasons, as it was a "coming of age story; following five ridiculous teenagers as they slowly... very slowly... start to become adults while around them the place they call home starts to change too and Northern Ireland enters a new more hopeful phase-- which was a small, magical window of time."
She added:
"Who knows if Erin, Clare, Orla, Michelle and James will return in some other guise someday, but for now this is it for us and we're excited to start filming this series with our incredible cast and crew to hopefully take our loyal fans on one last adventure."
The news broke hearts around the world, but McGee hasn't put a foot wrong with the show so far-- and today the writer gave fans another glimpse into the Derry Girls world with a much happier update.
Sharing a photograph of five chairs-- no prizes for guessing who'll be seated on them!-- McGee wrote simply: "Rehearsals", and tagged #DerryGirls.
And one witty photoshopper, Mark McFadden, responded to the image with a slight edit-- one that any fan of the show will recognise straight away.
Sorted. pic.twitter.com/lf2obmOZns
— Mark McFadden (@MarkMcFadden) September 27, 2021
We absolutely cannot wait for the third season of Derry Girls-- but then again, knowing it's almost at the end is making the long wait not seem so bad after all.
