Ardal O'Hanlon has joined the cast of "Derry Girls".
The "Death in Paradise" star will portray the role of Eamonn, "the awkward, middle-aged mummy's boy of the Quinn/McCool extended family" in the hotly-anticipated second series of the award-winning comedy, which will air on Channel 4 next month.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson, who portrays Erin Quinn on the popular show, said: "Ardal O'Hanlon joins our family this year, which is brilliant."
Nicola Coughlan (Claire Devlin) teased that Ardal is the perfect fit for the show as an "iconic figure" in Ireland.
She added to RadioTimes.com: "I think it's something that everybody will recognise, and he completely gets it so on the money.
2 January 2019 - 5:00 PM
"It was really surreal, just looking at him, because he's such an iconic figure in Ireland, and he's such a lovely man. He's so good in it."
And Nicola teased that she and her co-stars were told to stop "bullying" their co-star in one scene where they all went for his character.
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She said: "There's a scene where it gets quite physical, and [writer and creator] Lisa [McGee] came over.
"She was like, "Don't bully Ardal". And we were like, "We're not bullying him, he's like a national treasure!" "Cause we had to like go for it in the scene."
"Derry Girls" recently scooped the best comedy prize at the Broadcast Awards 2019.
The Channel 4 six-part comedy series - which became a huge hit when it launched in January last year - follows the lives of Erin and her friends as they navigate through their teens in Derry in 1990s Northern Ireland,
The judges were impressed with the sitcom's "authentic depiction" of what it was like during the conflict in Northern Ireland in the late 20th century.
The Broadcast judges said: "Channel 4 started 2018 with a bang thanks to "Derry Girls". Lisa McGee's gang comedy, set in an all-too-real early 1990s Northern Ireland and following the escapades of four teenage girls and a "wee English fella", was a resounding success.
"Reeling in an average of 3 million viewers across its six-part run, it became C4's biggest new comedy since 2012's Derek.
"Viewers were drawn in by its authentic depiction of what everyday life was like for youngsters against a backdrop of army checkpoints and bomb threats.
"But the clincher was its cast of larger-than-life characters, ably led by breakout star Saoirse-Monica Jackson, with support from Kevin McAleer and Peter Campion."
Meanwhile, Saoirse-Monica previously teased that the upcoming second series will be "bigger and braver" and even funnier than before.
She said: "In season 2 of "Derry Girls" it's definitely bigger and braver. I would say there's no second album fare.
"[Creator] Lisa [McGee] has really outdone herself. Not to say same old same old, but the girls are definitely in the same situation, still a disaster, still a bunch of selfish teenagers, still getting themselves into trouble and thinking they're right at all times.
"We always knew that "Derry Girls" would definitely resonate with Irish people. Never did we expect it to lift off so well across the water here in England, never mind America, Brazil and all these different places, but that's a real testament to Lisa's writing."
