Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan has opened up about why her role in the third and final season of the Channel 4 comedy was reduced.
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The actress, who plays Clare in the much-loved series, revealed that she was "devastated" after production pushbacks caused by the pandemic led to a filming overlap for Bridgerton and Derry Girls.
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Speaking at a recent press event, she told Digital Spy: "Last year was really difficult. I won't lie because, you know, at the best of times trying to manage different projects, it's such a push and pull.
"We were meant to film Derry Girls in January 2021. And I was totally free and they decided to push it again. And that caused me insane stress because I was on [what] in the industry is called first call. So it means you have to go and do the show that you're on first call to, which was Bridgerton.
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She continued: "And I was like 'Guys, can we just film it?' And they were like, 'No, we're gonna wait.' And I was like, 'oh', so [we had to make] compromises happen in the script of Derry Girls. It was devastating to me because I wanted to be in all of this. But compromises had to be made.
Nicola opened up about her reduced role in season three
"And you know, they had to cut down my role somewhat, which was hard. Really, really hard. But I think, you know, the fans of the show are going to be happy. I think it's a really nice sign-off for the show."
The beloved comedy, which is set in 1990s Northern Ireland, is due to return to screens for its final outing later this year and will see Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Dylan Llewellyn and Siobhan McSweeney reprise their roles. They will also be joined by Brassic and Being Human star Damien Molony, who will be making an appearance playing a plumber.
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