Derry girls who inspired TV show praise museum exhibition

Two women who inspired characters in the hit Channel 4 series Derry Girls have described a new exhibition based on the show as very surreal.

The Derry Girls Experience officially opens to the public on Tuesday at Derry's Tower Museum.

It showcases memorabilia from the Bafta award-winning Channel 4 comedy.

Some of the group of friends who inspired the antics of Erin, Michelle, Orla, Clare and James, attended a sneak preview of the exhibit on Monday.

It boasts original sets, props and other 90s memorabilia from episodes over the show's three series.

Some items on display are the cast's school uniforms and Erin Quinn's diary.

Derry Girls, which first aired on Channel 4 in 2018, follows four teenage girls - and "a wee English fella" - growing up in Londonderry in Northern Ireland during the 1990s.

It tracks the group as they navigate the ups and downs of teenage life, all in the shadow of the final years of the Troubles.

Shauna Bray and Aoife O'Neill grew up with the programme's creator Lisa McGee.

"People can certainly see themselves in at least one, if not several of the characters and there's definitely a moment or a scene that reminds them of their own childhood," Aoife said.

"Lisa certainly highlighted some of our good qualities but also a lot of our not-so-great qualities," Shauna joked.

She said her own personality was very much like Michelle's. Aoife reluctantly admits she is most like Clare and can be a self-confessed worrier.

"We can see a lot of ourselves in all the characters but those two would certainly be the ones we are most like," Shauna said.

Having their childhood antics broadcast to millions across the world was a strange experience at first, they told BBC News NI.

They have been were overwhelmed by how much people love the show.

The exhibition, they said, is testament to how the show has resonated with a global audience.

The show has been a massive success for Channel 4, winning Royal Television Society Awards, Irish Film and Television Awards and Baftas.

The final episode aired on 18 May after three series.

Both Shauna and Aoife joked that some of the show's most iconic scenes are based on quite embarrassing real-life events - such as the girl's Spice Girls performance at Thornhill College's Christmas talent show.

Aoife said they always knew Lisa would go on to do great things. She is incredibly proud of all her friend has accomplished.

Ms McGee was awarded the freedom of Derry City and Strabane in December 2021 in recognition of the "global positive impact" that her work has had.

She was the first woman to receive the council's highest honour.

The city has already capitalised on the popularity of the Channel 4 comedy with several other tourist attractions on offer in the city and district, including a city centre mural of the main cast on a large gable wall of Badger's Bar on Orchard Street.

Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O'Donnell attended a special 90's themed event on Monday evening to celebrate the exhibit's opening.

The Derry Girls Experience will be on show in the Tower Museum daily until July 2024.