The latest season of Derry Girls is set to begin filming "very soon", according to one of the show's stars.
Tara Lynne O'Neill, who plays Ma Mary, has confirmed that the third series of Lisa McGee's wonderful comedy is already in pre-production.
At present, Ms O'Neill is occupied with her acclaimed play Rough Girls which is showing in Belfast's Lyric Theatre.
But she's looking forward to joining the rest of the cast later this month.
During a recent interview with the excellent podcast Talking Derry Girls, the actress gave an insight into her immediate timetable and disclosed what she'll be doing after Rough Girls wraps up its run on September 25.
"I have four days after we finish here to go into Derry Girls, but I cannot wait," she said.
"It's like two and a half years ago that we filmed season two. I've seen some people, but just to get back in and this will be the first time that I ever get to do the read-through because the first season I wasn't cast when they did the read-through, I was only cast the week before.
"And then on the second season, I had vertigo and couldn't fly. So I actually get to play Ma Mary in the readthrough. I've already said to Lisa, 'please let me know if I kick the bucket in episode two, that's all I need to know to know.' So we're filming right through to Christmas," she said.
As the matriarch of the Quinn family, Ma Mary has established herself as one of the best characters in the show due to her wonderful mix of cutting one-liners, colourful jumpers and neurotic behaviour.
However, as always, Ms O'Neill says that she's still not trusted with knowing any secrets about the new episodes.
"I met Lisa in the coffee shop on the way to The Lyric and they're in pre-production obviously. I said, 'can you tell me anything?' She said, no!' I'm useless to be on your podcast because I know nothing. All I know is that we're all back," she said.
During a previous interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Ms O'Neill's Derry Girls co-star Ian McElhinney (Granda Joe) also said that season three will start filming at the end of September.
After the first two seasons of the award-winning comedy becoming a global sensation, the demand for more episodes continued to rise but the pandemic halted production.
In another interview with The Mirror, Ms O'Neill said that the plan is for the new season to be released early next year.
