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'Derry Girls' did 'Bake Off'. Here's the 14 most hilarious (and disastrous) moments.

"Eat up your slime."

Rachel Thompson

on January 2, 2020

'Derry Girls' did 'Bake Off'. Here's the 14 most hilarious (and disastrous) moments.

Our 'Derry Girls', Orla, Clare, Erin, Michelle, and the 'wee English fella' James. Credit: channel 4

Bout Ye. This post contains a tonne of absolutely class craic, but you might spot a few wee spoilers in there. Read on at your peril.

In the words of the Spice Girls, New Year's Day was the night that two became one.

The two I'm referring to, of course, are Derry Girls and the Great British Bake Off — a dynamic duo like you've never seen before.

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A special episode cooked up by Channel 4 just in time for New Year's, The Great Festive Bake Off 2020 was gas, in the words of our beloved Northern Irish schoolgirls. That means funny, just FYI.

The episode starred three of our Derry Girls — Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Erin), Nicola Coughlan (Clare), Jamie-Lee O'Donnell (Michelle) — as well as Siobhán McSweeney (Sister Michael) and Dylan Llewellyn (James aka the “wee English fella”).

The craic was in abundance so it's going to be tough to fit all the hilarious moments into one article. But I'm gonna give it a whirl. Here are the 14 funniest moments.

1. When Bake Off hosts Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig, Prue Leith, and Paul Hollywood dressed up as Derry Girls. To be fair, Noel makes for a very convincing Michelle. As Jamie-Lee O'Donnell described her twin on Instagram, "2 absolute rides!"

2. When Nicola Coughlan made the worst Swiss Roll we've ever seen. Third time's a charm, mind.

3. When she re-did her Swiss Roll sponge but accidentally grilled it instead of baking it. You might say she broiled it and spoiled it. OK, I'll stop.

4. When the wee English fella cracked a rude joke. Ooo err indeed.

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5. When Siobhán McSweeney tried to convince people that her slimy trifle was traditionally Irish.

6. When Siobhán tried to trick Paul into a Hollywood Handshake.

7. When Jamie-Lee pointed out that canapés are pointless and too small. "Just get a full-size thing."

8. When Paul crept up on Nicola right when her cake caved in on itself in spectacular fashion.

9. When Jamie-Lee got on the wrong side of her mixer.

10. When Saoirse broke her heart (-shaped cake).

A Bake Off tragedy, so it was.

11. When Siobhán ruined the memory of her childhood holidays with her Cork Battenberg. Very, uuuh, creative.

12. When Jamie-Lee's tribute to Amelia Earhart encountered some turbulence. Note the fondant icing hanging from the wing.

13. When Nicola had to apologise to Liza Minnelli for this "tribute" to Cabaret.

14. When Dylan served the judges "raw dough".

Still, at least Saoirse' Showstopper turned out well.

Catch yerselves on, girls.

You can watch The Great Festive Bake Off starring the cast of Derry Girls on All Four catchup.

Rachel Thompson

Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.