This article contains spoilers about Derry Girls series 3, episode 1.
Derry Girls fans were left stunned as a Hollywood A-lister made a cameo appearance in the new series of the the hit Channel 4 sitcom.
On Tuesday night, the first episode of the third and final series saw Liam Neeson pop up as a police officer intent on finding out the truth behind a burglary at the school.
Main characters Clare, Erin, Orla, Michelle and James were brought in for questioning in a dimly-lit police interview room, before the Taken star appeared.
Liam’s cameo had not been announced prior to transmission, so it came as a huge surprise to viewers...
Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee tweeted after the episode that the crew had a code name for Liam on set which was “the big fella”, a secret which she admitted was arguably quite “easily cracked”.
She added: “What an honour to have him in our wee show. Our very own Northern Star.”
Lisa previously announced that the third series of Derry Girls – which follows a group of teenagers years against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland – would be the last.
She added: “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.”
As well as winning huge critical acclaim, Derry Girls has pulled in massive viewing figures, with the first series becoming Channel 4′s biggest comedy launch since 2004 and the most-watched TV series in North Ireland since modern records began in 2002.
Derry Girls continues on Tuesday at 9.15pm on Channel 4.