‘Derry Girls’ star to front documentary on city

The actress starred as Michelle Mallon in the hit Channel 4 comedy about a group of teenagers growing up in the city in the 1990s, which ended last week with a special episode paying tribute to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

The forthcoming documentary, ‘The Real Derry: Jamie-Lee O’Donnell’, will explore her upbringing in the Catholic community and how things have changed in the city since.

Students at O’Donnell’s old school will reflect on the city’s regeneration and why many young people still feel they need to leave Londonderry to gain new skills and experiences.

Fifty years on from Bloody Sunday, the programme will also look at what the future may bring for the city, in particular for the younger generation who still live with the impact of the Troubles.

Channel 4 has commissioned Northern Ireland’s Tyrone Productions to make the documentary.

Daniel Fromm, Channel 4’s commissioning editor for popular factual, said: “I’m hugely excited to be working with Tyrone Productions on their first commission for Channel 4 – and with Jamie-Lee in a brand new role for her.

“Derry Girls has brought the city to national prominence; now this film gives a voice to a new generation of its young people, so they can tell us what it’s like to grow up there in 2022.”

Co-executive producer of Tyrone Productions Patricia Carroll said: “Fiercely proud of her home city, Jamie-Lee is the perfect person to explore Derry’s past and share her hopes for its future.”