Liam Neeson made a cameo in Derry Girls and viewers lost it

Derry Girls is officially back, and viewers were in for a treat when they tuned in for the first episode of season three last night.

The season premiere featured none other than Northern Irish megastar Liam Neeson, much to the delight of Derry Girls fans.

Neeson featured as a police officer who quizzed the gang after their attempt to break into the school to view their GCSE results went terribly wrong.

In the episode, Neeson insists the group of teenagers need a parent or guardian so they call slow-talking Uncle Colm, played by Kevin McAleer, to rescue them.

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After discovering the real burglars captured on CCTV footage, Neeson says: “Please do go and for the love of suffering Jesus take him with you,” in reference to dull Uncle Colm.

Sadly, the Taken star didn’t crack out his classic “particular set of skills” quote…

Neeson stars alongside Nicola Coughlan, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Dylan Llewellyn, who have all returned for the eagerly anticipated final instalment of the series.

Fans took to social media to share their excitement at seeing the Hollywood A-lister on the small screen:

Unlikely hero Uncle Colm’s long-winded antics tickled viewers, with Domino’s ROI joking: “Liam Neeson has successfully beaten terrorists, wolves, aliens but tonight he comes undone courtesy of Uncle Colm.”

Neeson said he was “delighted to be able to play a wee part of the final series of Derry Girls” and added that he’s a “huge fan of the series, the talented Lisa McGee’s incredible writing and the superb ensemble cast”, according to The Metro.

He said: “It’s such a unique and special show with real heart and amazing to see the lives of ordinary, funny people living in Northern Ireland during The Troubles played out in a Channel 4 comedy.

“It was lovely to be back filming there and having fun with them all.”

Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee tweeted after the episode that the show had a code name for Neeson 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.”

The coming-of-age programme is about a group of teenagers growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, around the time of the IRA and loyalist ceasefires.

While series one saw the group traverse their teenage years against the backdrop of The Troubles, series two saw them navigate their parents, parties, love interests and school amid a precarious peace process.

In the third season, there is hope in the air that The Troubles may finally be over, but their troubles are only just beginning as the group get closer to adulthood.

McGee has previously said the third series of the hit comedy will be the last.

The show creator also said that the popular series would not have existed without the support of Channel 4.

The government confirmed recently that it will proceed with plans to privatise the channel, which has been publicly owned since it was founded in 1982 and is funded by advertising.

McGee is quoted as saying at the premiere event: “I probably wouldn’t exist as a comedy writer (without Channel 4). I had a career writing drama but they really invested in my voice as a comedy writer which is what I am now most known for.”

If you need more of a Derry Girls fix as you wait for next week’s episode, relive season one and two by checking out our pick of the show’s six best moments so far.

Derry Girls airs on Channel 4 at 9.15pm every week.