Derry Girls star says Sister Michael “confronts her own issues” in season 3

By Flora Carr

Published: Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:00 am

Derry Girls star Siobhán McSweeney has teased that her character Sister Michael “becomes more herself” in the comedy’s third and final season, promising more serious storylines for her – while still delivering “some of the best lines in the series”.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, McSweeney said that the sarcastic nun, who is the headmistress at the girls’ school the central characters attend, will be “forced to confront her own issues” and “grow up” this season.

“She hits a few challenges where she’s forced to, just like the girls, grow up herself,” she teased. “And she’s forced to confront her own issues a little bit. And a bit like being mean, it’s very easy to stay complacent.

“It’s very easy to stay cynical and sarcastic. It’s a very passive thing. And there are a few things in this series that force her to stand up and actually take account of herself and of what she believes. So I think Sister Michael becomes more herself. It’s really lovely.”

McSweeney, who has a starring role in upcoming ITV series Holding, also promised that her Derry Girls character still delivers some of the most memorable one-liners this season.

“Yet again, I have some of the best lines in the series. Structurally, it’s a f**king gift. Everybody gets to work on setting up the gag, I come in, hit the punchline, and then leave again,” she said.

However, she found that returning to set to film the final season proved “bittersweet” due to both the filming restrictions imposed during the pandemic, and to an injury sustained to her leg before filming began.

“[It was] bittersweet,” she said. “Everybody who is in this, the show has changed their lives. There isn’t a person who’s sort of gone, ‘Oh, yeah, my life is the same.’

“The really sad thing about it is COVID made things incredibly difficult for any kind of closeness because we were all in our bubbles. Everybody had to be very careful. Also, because of my leg, I was in an awful lot of pain and was still on crutches.

“It’s a pity, but people had it worse. It was lovely to get back into the habit, and then immediately things start coming back. It’s like riding a bike, except one you don’t f**king fall off, Siobhán,” she joked.