Derry Girls star Saoirse-Monica Jackson has said she hasn’t kept in touch with her former co-star Nicola Coughlan despite the pair now leading two Netflix series.
Speaking to Vulture, Jackson who led the Channel 4 comedy as Erin, said she has yet to watch the latest series of Bridgerton which is fronted by Coughlan who played Claire in the series.
“I think the both of us are so busy, so no, I haven’t been in touch,” Jackson said when asked if she has chatted with Coughlan, who has seen her stardom rise to A-list status since she finished Derry Girls, starring in the Netflix period hit, alongside film Seize Them! and Channel 4 mental health comedy Big Mood.
Jackson also admitted while she had watched the previous series, she has yet to watch the latest edition of Bridgerton, which is led by her former co-star who plays Penelope Bridgerton and spoiler — the series’ narrator and town gossip, Lady Whistledown.
Coughlan famously had to miss out on the majority of filming of the last series of Derry Girls due to her conflicting schedule with the Netflix hit created by Shonda Rhimes.
Her scenes mainly took place in Strabane, where the character moved following the death of her father.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson in The Decameron
Jackson was asked about the contact with Coughlan as the actress, who is from Derry, is about to star in her own Netflix comedy series, the period comedy The Decameron, which is set in the 1300s during the Black Death in Italy.
The series marks a change for the actress who now lives in Liverpool with her DJ fiancee Denis Sulta.
Ironically, Netflix is also home to Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee, whose new series How To Get to Heaven From Belfast was picked up by the streaming service last year from Channel 4.
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Filming is currently underway throughout Northern Ireland for an air date next year.
“I was growing as a young woman in my early 20s, leading this massive, successful show, and my own personal growth was so woven in and running parallel to the storylines,” Jackson added about her time filming Derry Girls.
The interview also revealed how her American co-star Zosia Mamet, who starred in HBO’s Girls picked up her Northern Ireland catchphrase while filming including “up to high doe”.
Since Derry Girls ended two years ago, Jackson has kept busy ahead of her new series.
Last year, she had a small part in last year’s box-office superhero bomb The Flash, and will also be next seen in BBC’s gritty drama This City Is Ours, where she plays a drug dealer opposite Sean Bean.
She also spoke about turning 30 years old describing it as meaning she “gives less of a f***”.
“I’ve heard it’s the best era. I see this with my mom and my aunties or even Jamie-Lee (O’Donnell who played Michelle in Derry Girls),” she said.
“They all give less of a f**k than I do. I’m really looking forward to that happening, but I haven’t really had it kick in yet. When does that kick in, not giving a f**k? When does that happen?”