Derry Girls stars rally against the privatisation of Channel 4

Derry Girls stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Nicola Coughlan have spoken out against the attempted privatisation of Channel 4, the public broadcasting channel which aired the hit sitcom.

Jackson, who plays protagonist Erin on the series, said that the beloved sitcom “would never get made” under a privatised Channel 4.

Jackson, speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat, remarked that the news was “devastating”.

“To be honest I think it’s absolutely terrible,” she said, continuing: “I’d be really worried about undiscovered talent and the lack of that ever being brought to our forefront and being pushed.

“I think you need the opportunity to grow and writers need the opportunity to have comedies come out on Channel 4 and be nourished.”

Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee also took to Twitter to criticise the recent decision to privatise the TV channel which brought the popular show to fruition.

McGee tweeted on Tuesday: “Thinking of all the voices that might never be heard. #channel4 #DerryGirls” along with an image of the Channel 4 icon.

Thinking of all the voices that might never be heard. #channel4 #DerryGirls pic.twitter.com/PLGkbBwCuD

— Lisa McGee (@LisaMMcGee) April 5, 2022

Nicola Coughlan, who secured the role of Clare Devlin on Derry Girls, shared the petition against privatisation to her Instagram followers alongside a post (rightly) critical of the Conservative government.

"Please sign the link in my bio to stop the attempted privatisation of Channel 4 by the current government. Keep the Tories out of our stories," she wrote last week.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nicola Coughlan (@nicolacoughlan)

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries confirmed last week that plans are continuing to progress to privatise Channel 4, which would result in the broadcaster being sold off after 40 years in public ownership.

In a column for the Mail on Sunday, the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, who is leading the privatisation process, said Channel 4’s state ownership was a “restrictive incongruity in itself on to the scene, with juggernauts such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ upending the old order”.

It’s after Channel 4 posted a statement on their website confirming the government’s intention to privatise the channel.

It read: “With over 60,000 submissions to the Government’s public consultation, it is disappointing that today’s announcement has been made without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised.

“Channel 4 remains legally committed to its unique public-service remit. The focus for the organisation will be on how we can ensure we deliver the remit to both our viewers and the British creative economy across the whole of the UK.

“The proposal to privatise Channel 4 will require a lengthy legislative process and political debate. We will of course continue to engage with DCMS, Government and Parliament, and do everything we can to ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain’s creative ecology and national life.”

As chief executive and chair of Channel 4 respectively in the late 1980s, Lord Grade and Lord Richard Attenborough fought off the first attempt by Margaret Thatcher to privatise the channel she herself had greenlit in 1982.

Season 3 of Derry Girls airs on Channel 4 tonight at 9:15pm.

Pre-order our new issue below, featuring a Derry Girls and Taylor Hawkins flip-cover special.