Derry Girls’ creator Lisa McGee wins BAFTA for best Writer: Comedy
Date Posted: April 24, 2023
BAFTA last night announced the winners of the BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2023 at a ceremony in London, celebrating the very best behind-the-scenes television talent of 2022. Northern Ireland Screen was delighted to learn that Derry Girls’ creator Lisa McGee won the award for best Writer: Comedy.
Lisa’s hit sitcom is about a group of working-class teenagers coming of age in Derry, Northern Ireland at the tail end of the Troubles follows local teenager and wannabe writer, Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland) and friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s tag along English cousin, aka The Wee English Fella, James (Dylan Llewellyn). Northern Ireland is growing up and while there’s hope in the air that The Troubles may finally be over, the gang’s troubles are only just getting started as they get ever closer to adulthood.
The series is also nominated for three BAFTA TV Awards; Best Scripted Comedy, Female Performance in a Comedy Programme (Siobhán McSweeney) and the series finale is up for the P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award. The Awards, hosted by Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, take place on Sunday 14th May.
The P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award is the only Bafta decided by public vote. The Derry Girls finale moves between characters we have grown to love casting their vote in the Good Friday agreement and archival news footage at the euphoric moment it was announced that 71.1% of the Northern Ireland population voted yes. You can vote for BAFTA’s Memorable TV Moment Award here: https://publicvote.bafta.org/po-cruises-memorable-moment
Derry Girls is a Channel 4 commission for Hat Trick Productions and is a showcase of creative talent from Northern Ireland, entirely set and made locally with funding from Northern Ireland Screen.
