Right gals won
It’s been emotional, as public vote polls often are.
Lisa McGee’s beloved Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls made it all the way to the Radio Times Comedy Champion 2018 Final following a committed campaign to win the whole damn thing.
And win the whole damn thing they did on Tuesday night, having gone up against cult BBC favourite Inside No. 9.
With minutes to go, it looked like it was curtains for the Girls, but in the end, somehow, some way, they took home the title of Comedy Champion by a whopping point one percent of the vote.
Yep, the final tally has Derry Girls at 50.1% to Inside No. 9’s 49.9%.
It really doesn’t get any closer than that.
It’s a seriously impressive result given the pedigree of the opponent, with Inside No. 9 boasting rich previous form in competitions like these.
The show was voted “Best TV Comedy Drama” in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, and was named “Comedy of the Year” in 2017.
And yet, a certain debut offering from up north walloped it. By point one percent.
Massive congratulations to cast and crew, who have been rightly bowed over in the face of the stunning upset:
https://twitter.com/SaoirseJackson/status/1024403509335212039
Show creator Lisa McGee rather summed things up perfectly:
Thank you all so much for all your votes . A truly epic battle with the fantastic Inside Number 9 . I’m sure everyone needs a lie down now.
— Lisa McGee (@LisaMMcGee) July 31, 2018
While Nicola Coughlan broke out the CAPITAL LETTERS accordingly:
https://twitter.com/nicolacoughlan/status/1024400216257167366
Sister Michael herself weighed in on the glorious achievement:
Oh? Did we win? I didn’t notice ….#DerryGirls
— Siobhán McSweeney (@siobhni) July 31, 2018
As did wee James…
Nearly a hiccup with the voting but we got there thank you so much everyone! #BehindTheScenes #DerryGirls pic.twitter.com/Vj3vm04Rdf
— Dylan Llewellyn (@Djllewellyn) July 31, 2018
And Michelle:
Cheers for all the votes folks, really appreciated! Xxxx
— Jamie-Lee O'Donnell (@JamieLeeOD) July 31, 2018
Having previously pledged our official vote, we’d like to take this opportunity to walk along the high road and note that everyone involved are winners, from first-round no-hopers to those contesting this tightest of final battles.
But yeah, Derry Girls won. They crushed you, Inside No. 9. Sickened.
