Michelle Mallon

Michelle is the loudest, filthiest-mouthed member of the Derry Girls gang, forever scheming her way toward boys, buzz, or both. She bosses her cousin James and her three best friends around with total confidence, treats school rules as background noise, and greets any obstacle to fun as a personal insult.

The writing hands her the show's best filth and she detonates it with total commitment, never once winking at the audience. Jamie-Lee O'Donnell plays her chaos as sincere rather than cartoonish, so underneath the swagger and the endless bad ideas there's real, unguarded loyalty to her friends.