An Insta-famous Derry Girls mural has been given a safety-first makeover as a display of gratitude to the NHS.
The large mural on the side of Badgers Bar in central Derry was originally commissioned by Channel 4 at the start of 2019. It shows the five teenage stars of the acclaimed sitcom in their school uniforms.
Now, the street art specialists who made it – UV Arts – have updated their handiwork to show Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland), Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell) and James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn) wearing protective face masks.
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Sharing a photo of the updated mural on Twitter, UV Arts said: "Uppa NHS and a massive thank you to all our key workers and volunteers for the epic work they're doing".
Derry girls, and the wee English fella have been doing their bit to stay safe and stay at home, just like you! Uppa NHS and a massive thank you to all our keyworkers and volunteers for the epic work they're doing! @dcsdcouncil @Derryvisitor @Channel4 @4Creative pic.twitter.com/eoEvn2QneQ
— UV Arts C.I.C (@uvartscic) April 23, 2020
Derry Girls follows a group of friends navigating their teenage years in '90s Northern Ireland a few years before the violence and conflict of The Troubles comes to an end. Series one aired on Channel 4 in early 2018 and series two followed in early 2019. Both have an amazing soundtrack of '90s bangers including "Dreams" by The Cranberries.
Writer-creator Lisa McGee reassured fans last month that she was working on a third series.
Hi everyone. I’m currently in the thick of writing series 3. Who knows what the future holds for The Derry Girls but please don’t worry...we are plotting!!
— Lisa McGee (@LisaMMcGee) March 9, 2020
Discussing the success of the show last year, Saoirse-Monica Jackson told Refinery29: "I think the fact that it’s set in the '90s really does something and gauges a different audience. And I think most importantly it’s the fact that Lisa has developed a character that everyone should be able to identify with and each one of those characters are full, sculpted, rounded characters.
"That really dry sense of humour at that time, it hasn’t been done in a while – it's authentic at the same time as being new and fresh," she added.
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