Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee has said the upcoming third series of the hit comedy will be the last.

The show, which follows a group of teenagers growing up in the 1990s of Northern Ireland, stars Nicola Coughlan, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Dylan Llewellyn.

The second series of the Channel 4 show was filmed in 2018, but the third instalment was delayed because of coronavirus.

McGee wrote on Instagram: “It was always the plan to say goodbye after three series.

“Derry Girls is a coming of age story; following five ridiculous teenagers as they slowly…very slowly…start to become adults, while around them the place they call home starts to change too and Northern Ireland enters a new more hopeful phase – which was a small, magical window of time.

“Derry Girls is a love letter to the place I come from and the people who shaped me.

“It has been an honour to write it and I will be forever proud of everything it’s achieved.

“I’d like to thank the people of Derry and Northern Ireland for getting behind us.

“Thanks also to the team behind the series, the incredible Hat Trick productions and a special thanks to Channel 4 – the channel I grew up watching; the channel that made me want to write comedy and the only channel that could have made our show.

“Who knows if Erin, Clare, Orla, Michelle and James will return in some other guise someday, but for now this is it for us and we’re excited to start filming this series with our incredible cast and crew to hopefully take our loyal fans on one last adventure.”

Earlier this year, Bridgerton star Coughlan, who plays Clare, updated fans on plans for the third series.

She wrote on Twitter: “Covid has pushed back filming several times… but honestly the storylines in this series are the best we’ve ever done, so I can’t tell you how worth it the wait will have been.”