Derry Girl Siobhan McSweeney's on her bike to discover the delights of Northern Ireland

Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney is climbing aboard an electric bike to explore the rural landscape of Northern Ireland in a new four-part series.

Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney in her upcoming More4 series Exploring Northern Ireland with Siobhan McSweeney. Picture: More4

Called Exploring Northern Ireland With Siobhan McSweeney, on More4, she tours the lakes, mountains, coastline and forests.

The actress from Cork, 41, who plays Sister Michael in the popular Channel 4 series Derry Girls, delivers her own “affectionate and mischievous take on the province” during her travels.

“When the idea was first mooted, I think I was a little bit surprised – very surprised – that anybody would want me to do it. And especially because they wanted an outdoors feel to it. And I’m like, ‘Well, you’ll need somebody who likes the outdoors’. I mean, I love rambling, I love walking, hiking. But when I thought about it, I was delighted to leave the flat.

“I was very excited to show Northern Ireland in a way that I feel isn’t being shown at all, and I was very excited about exploring the place. And going back there, I feel like I’m at home.

“We have four episodes and they each deal with a geographic area. Those areas would have very distinct feels, distinctive landscapes, and even the activities we’d get up to would be quite different in each area. And you got a different vibe from the place. And that surprised me, that surprised me a lot. I loved how different every place was.

“What didn’t surprise me was the vast and warm and generous welcome we got everywhere we went. And genuinely, not in a trying to hawk their business or smile for the camera way, but I think people really understood the intention behind the show… There is a great pride in Northern Ireland for their home place. It’s a very interesting place and especially here in Britain, we only see one aspect of it.

“Overall, presenting is great fun and I love it. But it’s a side hustle. It’s something that I feel I’m getting away with.

“Dermot O’Leary wasn’t available? OK, you don’t want real presenters, that’s fine. So, as a result, it was that paradox of feeling very awkward being myself, because I had no character to hide behind. But great personal validation of feeling, ‘Well, they know that I’m probably not any good at this, so I don’t have to be good at it. I can just be myself’.

“I think people have loads of misconceptions around Northern Ireland. I hope you see that it’s an incredibly beautiful, and poetic, inspiring country, filled with beautiful, poetic, inspiring people who – like the whole idea of Derry Girls – are just living their lives. They’re mortified and embarrassed and bored, utterly bored, by the way they’re portrayed and neglected. There are huge problems there, absolutely – but there are huge problems everywhere. And if you go there, you are guaranteed to have a wonderful time.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to the people of Northern Ireland for allowing me to stomp around their beautiful country. But if it means that more people go there in a respectful and open-hearted way, then you’re in for some craic, I’ll tell you.”