Derry Girls - Episode Guide

It's the early 90s and the first day of a new school term and a terrible start for 16-year-old Erin as she wakes up to find her cousin Orla reading her diary. Not so great for everyone else either as Granda Joe announces there's a bomb on the bridge. The Quinn family are distraught - it's a huge inconvenience and Aunt Sarah may not even be able to get to her sunbed session. Erin and Orla head to school picking up their friends Clare, who's doing a sponsored fast for Ethiopia, and Michelle, who has her cousin James in tow. James is over from England and will be joining them at Our Lady Immaculate Girls School amid concerns he'd get beaten up at the boys' school 'because of the English thing...'.

Everyone's really excited when Sister Michael announces the school trip this year is to Paris. Erin's keen to cultivate her writing (and a friendship with Charlene Kavanagh, the most popular girl in school), Clare and James want to improve their French, Orla thinks she's going to meet Nicole and Papa from the Renault Clio adverts and Michelle wants to ride a French fella. But they don't bank on the fact that the trip costs £375, each! Back at the Quinn house Uncle Colm, Granda Joe's extremely boring brother, is visiting and the whole family are losing the will to live.

The girls have been up all night cramming for a big exam. Some (Michelle and Erin) haven't studied for it enough whilst Clare's over-studied, leaving herself completely sleep deprived and slightly manic. Everyone is convinced they're going to fail. So when a distinctly dubious opportunity presents itself to get out of the exam they jump at the chance. Especially as it involves them spending time with the very beautiful Father Peter.

In episode four, Derry is welcoming the 'Children of Chernobyl' - teenagers, affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, who have been sent from their contaminated homeland for a few weeks of fresh air to, as Sister Michael puts it 'give their wee lungs a clear out'. The Quinns are hosts to one of these 'children' - Katya. Erin couldn't be more excited - she can't wait to share her wisdom and benevolence with this 'poor Ukranian girl'. Katya, however, turns out to be sophisticated, confident, sexy and a lot less grateful to be in Derry than Erin had expected, unless you factor in one of the gang. Meanwhile the rest of the family has other preoccupations - a new development in Granda Joe's love life leaves his daughters deeply unimpressed.

In episode five, it's July 12th and the Quinn family are rushing to get out of Derry before the Orange Parades start. They're packed and nearly ready to go when James, Michelle and Clare arrive as unexpected members of the escape party. Aunt Sarah has recently started reading tarot cards and is predicting disaster for this trip - and, for once, she might just be right... The question is only where and how will this disaster come?

Erin is over the moon when she becomes editor of the school magazine, Orla's obsessed by step aerobics, and Da Gerry is in trouble with Ma Mary. And there's romance for Aunt Sarah.

Erin and co are excited to attend an outdoor pursuits weekend as part of a peace initiative, but peace is the last thing on Michelle's mind once she finds out that there will be Protestant lads there.

New English teacher, Ms. De Brún, arrives at Our Lady Immaculate and the gang find themselves inspired.

Erin, Clare, Michelle, Orla and James are beside themselves with excitement as they have tickets to see Take That in Belfast. When Ma Mary forbids them to go they decide that they're going anyway.

The Quinn family cause uproar at a family wedding, and when the girls, and James fail to behave themselves at the reception the consequences are very serious indeed. Especially for poor cousin Eammon.

Jenny Joyce organises a 50s style prom, but the girls are more intrigued by the arrival of a new girl at Lady Immaculate. Erin, Clare and Michelle are looking for prom dates, but Orla has already got someone special in mind.

As Christmas approaches, excitement in Derry is at fever pitch for President Bill Clinton's visit. Meanwhile James gets a surprise and Grandpa Joe embarks on a mysterious plan of his own.

While there is hope that the Troubles may finally be over, the gang's troubles are only just starting as they get ever closer to adulthood. Tomorrow is GCSE results day and confidence is at rock bottom. If things go badly, how will the gang face their mammies again? Meanwhile, a new member of the Quinn household is causing chaos in the neighbourhood.

Jenny Joyce has big plans for the fundraising talent show. Can the gang outshine the competition and put Jenny in her place once and for all? Meanwhile, Ma Mary is at the end of her rope, but salvation is just around the corner in the unlikely form of a plumber.

The Quinns excitedly prepare for the annual trip to Barry's amusement park in Portrush. Surely an unfeasible amount of sandwiches and a massive surfboard is all they could need? Well, that and everyone making the train.

James's driving skills are put to the test as the gang set off with a van full of hooch and high hopes to an adult-free house in Donegal. Meanwhile, the Quinns visit local psychic Carlos Santini in the hope of making contact with a much-loved family spirit.

Ma Mary and Aunt Sarah are determined to put on a good show as they prepare for the highly anticipated class of 1977 school reunion. It seems like only yesterday that their own gang were beyond excited about the leavers' party. But will the truth come out about what really happened on that fateful night 20 years ago?

There is no bigger night in Derry than Halloween, and the gang have miraculously secured tickets to the gig of the century and the chance to meet their idol, Fatboy Slim. But when Da Gerry arrives unannounced, it becomes clear that life will never be the same again for the friends.

The gang bows out in this special extended episode which returns to Derry one year on, as the friends are preparing for their final year of school. It's the week of the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement but the timing could not be any worse as the highlight of the year, Erin and Orla's joint 18th birthday, threatens to be overshadowed. While the family try to get their heads around the possible outcome of the vote, the friends realise they may not be ready for what the future holds. 

The Derry Girls actress shares her hopes and fears for the future of her beloved home city of Derry as she discovers what life is like for young people growing up there today. Derry is a unique place with a distinctive accent and sense of humour, but as Jamie-Lee reveals, 30 years of the Troubles have left a heavy mark on the community. Preparing to take part in a special commemoration event marking the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday triggers painful memories for Jamie-Lee, as she reflects on her own childhood experiences of growing up in a community where fear was everywhere.