Talented Derry women to feature in BBC series - 'What Makes A Derry Girl?'

Lisa McGee, writer of the multi award-winning TV series Derry Girls, once wrote that ‘being a Derry Girl is a state of mind’. But what is it about this small city that has produced so much outstanding female talent? 

In the new four-part BBC Sounds series What Makes A Derry Girl?, presenter Anna Curran talks to four famous ‘Derry girls’ to hear about their connection to the city.

The women of Derry once ensured the economic survival of the city through working in the shirt factories, with the city’s the skyline dominated by the rooftops of 44 shirt manufacturers.

And as wives and mothers, the women raised children during the dark days of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Through it all, there was empathy, humour and creativity which are now woven into the fabric of the city.

In What Makes A Derry Girl?, Anna Curran, who is also from the city, chats individually to Eurovision winner Dana, actress and film producer Roma Downey, and actresses Amanda Burton and Jamie Lee O’Donnell, to discover what still ties them to their homeplace and makes them proud ‘Derry girls’.

Anna Curran says: “As a proud Derry girl I am thrilled to be fronting this series. I grew up watching Roma, Amanda and Dana on the TV, and like audiences the world over I am a huge fan of Jamie Lee and the Derry Girls series. It has been a privilege to listen to their stories of success, struggle and everything that makes a Derry girl.”

The four-part series will be available to listen to on BBC Sounds from Monday, February 10.

It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster from 3-4pm from Monday, February 10 - Thursday, February 13. And will be broadcast on BBC Radio Foyle across four consecutive Fridays from February 14 – Friday, March 7 from 12-1pm.