Jamie-Lee O'Donnell

“Even in dramatic times, there's some sort of a silver lining.”

“I would describe Bloody Sunday as a day in Derry history, Irish history, that changed the course of history. It was a civil rights march, the day people were marching for the rights that they deserved.”

“Even when I go to London as well people recognise me quite a lot.”

“I've always been into acting since I was very young.”

“Derry Girls' is about more than just growing up in Derry. I think the humour translates to anywhere, really.”

“I went through a period of thinking that if I could just grow up in America, that would save everything. You get this idea of what life is like there through TV, where it just looks like everybody's having fun and is really happy.”

“For people looking in, it might have seemed like the Troubles was the focal point of Derry life but, from stories I've heard, it wasn't. Day-to-day life was so normal for them.”

“It was a big surprise learning how many women work in men's prisons. There are people with mental health problems, people who have made awful mistakes, people who've stolen from the corner shop... all those people are treated the same in terms of where they end up.”

“It's just my identity was shaped entirely by being a working-class woman focused on a single goal. But once you start to achieve it, then what happens?”

“I think people are shocked that I'm a lot quieter than they thought. They think I'm going to be this really boisterous and wild person but I'm not really.”

“I don't have memories of that time, but my parents were obviously around during the Troubles, and lots of members of my family, and they tell me that that's what it was like.”

“Doing a northern English accent... I tried my best.”

“I went through a period where people kept sending me videos and pictures of random women with curly hair and being like, 'I can't believe I'm standing beside you.' I'm like, 'That's a random woman. Don't do that.'”

“I like to exercise, going to the gym. Reading a book. Anything quiet, I like. Just being outdoors as much as possible, going to the beach and stuff. Hanging out with my friends, going for coffees and chitchat is really lovely.”

“There's this guy, it's so funny, who sends me DMs which are always a random picture of him with a glass of wine or just eating something, or with his foot up in front of the TV watching 'Derry Girls.'”

“I got a job working at a coffee shop in Manchester. I remember flicking through my contract and asking the other staff: why doesn't it say whether you get paid for bomb scares? Back at home, this was a standard question: will I lose wages if we're forced to close for an evacuation? But they all looked back at me like I had two heads.”

“I think the big family thing is that the loudest gets heard and everyone wants to be the loudest. I know my family can literally end up shouting. It's not aggressive - it's just volume.”

“We didn't know 'Derry Girls' was going to take off. It's surreal.”

“Being from Derry, working hard is just what we do.”

“It's every time I go out. I get stopped and asked for pictures and things like that.”