IRISH TELEVISION CAME home victorious from the Bafta TV awards last night with two wins each for Derry Girls and Bad Sisters.

Derry Girls came away from the ceremony with accolades that saw creator Lisa McGee collected the award for Best Scripted comedy and actress Siobhan McSweeney winning Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her role as Sister Michael. 

Bad Sisters also took home two awards – one for Best Drama Series and another for actress Anne-Marie Duff for her performance in the show. 

The awards took place yesterday evening at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Accepting her award in a humorous and fast-paced speech but heartfelt, McSweeney said: “To the people in Derry, thank you taking me into your hearts and your living rooms.

“I am daily impressed with how you encompass the spirit of compromise and resilience despite the indignities, ignorance and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont and Westminster.

“In the words of my beloved Sister Michael, ‘it’s time they started to wise up’.”

“As my mother lay dying in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, one of the very last things she said to me was would I not consider retraining as a teacher?,” McSweeney told the audience.

“If she could see me now, getting a Bafta for playing a teacher – joke’s on you, Mam!” she quipped.

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Elsewhere, Channel 4’s I am Ruth, which explores the relationship young people have with technology, won in the Single Drama Category.

Ben Whishaw and Kate Winslet won the top acting prizes of the night.

Winslet won the best actress award for her performance in I Am Ruth, which sees a mother and her real-life daughter Mia Threapleton work through emotional turmoil on-screen, while James Bond and Paddington star Whishaw collected a top award for his performance as a doctor in BBC series This Is Going To Hurt.

Additional reporting by Press Association