‘Great British Baking Show’: Who Is In The ‘Derry Girls’ Cast?

The most recent installment of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays was a big deal for British comedy nerds. That’s because the stars of Derry Girls invaded the Bake Off tent for hilarity, hijinks, and an unsettlingly surreal time capsule of 2020. Of course, if you’re just a casual Great British Baking Show fan (and not a diehard British comedy obsessive), the whole episode might have thrown you through a loop. Who even are “the Derry Girls” — as host Sandi Toksvig called them — and why are they so funny? And where can you watch Derry Girls online stat? Folks, as a Great British Baking Show and Derry Girls obsessive, I’ve got you covered.

As you probably already know, every year The Great British Baking Show invites some of its favorite former bakers to return to the tent for a friendly holiday-themed baking competition. The emphasis is on a combo of boozy fun and redemption. Last year, The Great British Baking Show: Holidays did something a little different. For it’s “Festive” episode marking the start of 2020, they invited the cast of Derry Girls to give baking their best shot. While British viewers would immediately recognize the stars of the BAFTA-nominated show, it’s possible American viewers were first puzzled and then bewitched by these super Irish and super funny comic actors.

So here’s everything you need to know about…Derry Girls.

WHAT IS DERRY GIRLS?

Derry Girls is a sitcom created by native Northern Irish writer Lisa McGee that playfully revisits her own memories of coming-of-age during the Troubles. The Troubles, of course, refer to the decades-long turmoil that engulfed Northern Ireland in the 20th century after most of the island nation managed to liberate itself from British rule…except for Northern Ireland. While most media set in Northern Ireland is rife with trauma and tragedy, Derry Girls shows the lives of four teen girls and one teen boy as they deal with the universal issues of adolescence. You know, peer jealousy, horny crushes, going to pop idol concerts, and fighting with the local chippy. (What? You don’t have a local chippy?)

Derry Girls‘s magic comes from the way it balances the universal angst of being a teen and the hyper specific references of life for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. It also benefits from a tremendous ensemble cast, all of whom attack the humor with frenzied abandon…

WHO’S WHO IN THE DERRY GIRLS CAST: MEET DYLAN, SAOIRSE, SIOBHAN, NICOLA, AND JAMIE-LEE

Five of the six main stars of Derry Girls hit the tent for The Great British Baking Show: Holidays. They are…

Saoirse-Monica Jackson, who plays Erin on Derry Girls

Erin is the main character of Derry Girls, a hopelessly ambitious but hilariously insecure teenager who dreams of greatness. She’s constantly getting into ever-escalating trouble with her core group of best friends.

Nicola Coughlan, who plays Claire on Derry Girls

Claire is the most high-strung of all the characters on Derry Girls, which is saying something. Obsessed with following the rules and yet always inadvertently breaking them, she is the source of a lot of frantic comic relief.

Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, who plays Michelle on Derry Girls

Michelle is the most confident and profane of the group, constantly talking about her crushes on local guys and angling for hookups. Her catchphrase is “Motherfuckers,” lifted from a viewing of Pulp Fiction.

Dylan Llewellyn, who plays James on Derry Girls

James is the sole male member of the Derry Girls bunch, but don’t get it twisted. He is a Derry Girl. (Watch the show. You’ll get it.) James is introduced as Michelle’s cousin in Episode 1. His Irish mother went to England to obtain an abortion, but instead kept the child and raised him there until she decided she needed her family’s help caring for him. Plopped into the middle of the Troubles, James is full of hilariously confused takes on Northern Irish culture.

and Siobhán McSweeney, who plays Sister Michael on Derry Girls

While McSweeney might have been an adorably self-deprecating spirit in the tent, Sister Michael is the droll nun who runs the Catholic school all the characters go to. Savagely witty, Sister Michael is tough on all her students, but particularly on Erin and her friends.

Missing from the tent? Louisa Harland, who plays Orla on Derry Girls

Orla is Erin’s kooky cousin who marches the beat of her own drummer. It’s not clear why Louisa Harland couldn’t make the episode, but Nicola Coughlan shared with Decider during an interview for the upcoming Netflix show Bridgerton that she almost didn’t make it, either. So it might have been a scheduling issue for Harland.

IS DERRY GIRLS ON NETFLIX?

Yes! If spending an hour baking with the uber-charming cast of Derry Girls has you itching to watch their show, you’re in luck! Derry Girls Seasons 1 & 2 are now streaming on Netflix.

(Pro tip: Derry Girls is the rare sitcom where you’ll want to put the subtitles on to pick up all of writer/creator Lisa McGee’s hilarious punchlines amid those thick Northern Irish accents.)

Watch Derry Girls on Netflix

Watch The Great British Baking Show: Holidays on Netflix