Last night\u2019s Derry Girls<\/a> episode had us laughing one moment and sobbing the next, following the unexpected death of Clare\u2019s beloved Da following an aneurism.<\/p>\n However, the season finale twist<\/a> was one that series creator Lisa McGee based on real-life, revealing during a press screening that one of her childhood friends lost her father \u201csuddenly\u201d, forcing the friendship group to grow up \u2013 something the episode\u2019s script references during the funeral scene.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy I wanted to do the story is it happened to my group of friends; my friend\u2019s dad died when we were around that age, suddenly,\u201d McGee told RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be a real shock anyway, but I think the thing that really struck me was that we did grow up in this place where a lot of unpredictable stuff happened, and you worried about a lot of the violence and stuff like that, and this was a thing that could happen to anybody, and was a natural causes thing.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I was just like, \u2018Oh God, nobody\u2019s life is predictable, like this could happen to anyone\u2019, and it really came out \u2013 it says in the stage directions [of the episode], when they\u2019re walking behind the coffin, \u2018And just like that, they grew up\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like\u2026 something shifted in my friendship group when that happened. And then I suppose I thought I can end that there once Channel 4 reassured me the special would come out really close [to the season finale]. It wasn\u2019t going to leave everybody really depressed, and then they\u2019d have to wait a year [for the special].\u201d<\/p>\n In the Halloween-themed episode, the death of Clare\u2019s father was wordlessly confirmed when Nicola Coughlan\u2019s character reunited with her friends in the hospital waiting room.<\/p>\n The group all rushed to embrace her, enveloping her in their\u00a0fancy-dress angel wings as an acoustic cover of Praise You by Fatboy Slim played, before cutting to the funeral procession.<\/p> However, the special one-hour bonus episode \u2013\u00a0which airs tonight (Wednesday 18th May) \u2013 seems set to end the Channel 4 series on a more hopeful note, taking place one year later during the Good Friday Agreement referendum.<\/p>\n An episode teaser<\/a>\u00a0released on the broadcaster\u2019s Twitter saw the girls (and wee English fella) dancing together, as Erin says: \u201cWe have to move on, because things \u2013 they might just change for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not over yet, folks! We\u2019re back in Derry tomorrow at 9pm for an hour-long special set during the week of the Good Friday Agreement referendum. @SaoirseJackson<\/a> @louisa_harland<\/a> @Djllewellyn<\/a> @JamieLeeOD<\/a> @LisaMMcGee<\/a> #DerryGirls<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5yycpMUYOK<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Channel 4 (@Channel4) May 17, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/05\/682576S3Ep6Derry-Girls-S3-ep6-1-2-8d9001b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/05\/682576S3Ep6Derry-Girls-S3-ep6-4-7bb4be6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>