Derry Girls star had 15 year phobia after her legs were criticised on TV show
Derry Girls star Diona Doherty says podcast pals helped her overcome a 15-year phobia about exposing her legs.
And since she's shared her decision to shrug off criticism from judges on Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model, other women have followed her lead.
Diona, who's set to star in the new series of Blue Lights, says it was the energy of The Girls Groupchat podcast with Q Radio's Jordan Arnold, Olivia McVeigh and Shannon Mitchell which helped rebuild her body confidence.
The comedian also shares the stage with Jordan at EastSide Arts next month.
'When I was 21, I did Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model, and a remark was made about my legs, and again at FashionWeek, 'don't be putting a skirt on her', and it stuck with me,' says Diona.
'I genuinely never wore shorts or a skirt since. I would go on holiday and not get my legs out or go to the gym in leggings.
'Through the podcast I now feel like I have this girl gang and a female dynamic which has given me the confidence to wear all the things I have avoided.
'I can now wear skirts and shorts, and since I shared that the amount of people who have got in touch saying someone made a remark about their arms or their nose, and how something like that can divert the course of your life.'
The 36-year-old says leaving the hurtful comments behind also underlined that she's on the right career path after early modelling ambitions.
She had a memorable role as Ukrainian teenager and Chernobyl child Katya on Derry Girls and starred in Soft Border Patrol.
Diona, from Derry, is also in the next series of the Bafta-winning Blue Lights.
'I feel like I'm going to stay in comedy and acting.
'Blue Lights is a fun cool role and hopefully it has legs. I'm really excited for everyone to see it,' she says.
'I always saw myself doing a detective show or a cop drama because I'm a massive fan.
'I'm only in a couple of episodes and I remember thinking how lucky it was to be there on one of the most hard-working, efficient sets I've ever been on.'
'And what better time to join than when they've just won a Bafta?'
Girls Groupchat. From left, Jordan Arnold, Olivia McVeigh, Diona Doherty and Shannon Mitchell
Diona is also in Art Detectives, a UK-made drama which is currently only available on Acorn TV in the US.
She filmed it in Belfast, playing a curator in the Titanic Museum working with a group of detectives pursuing stolen art and artefacts.
'I auditioned for it, and some of them you get and most of them you don't,' says Diona.
'I don't know if it's going to be shown in the UK. Maybe I'm a huge star in America and I don't even know it.'
In another packed year the mother-of-two is currently writing an adult panto for Christmas, Red Riding Hoods, with husband Sean Hegarty, while preparing to take her Get Your Pink Back stand-up show to the Edinburgh Fringe for a month.
The title is a reference to flamingos who lose their pink colour when they become mothers. With four-year-old daughter Winter and son Rocky (2), she set out to find her pre-parenthood self – and make it funny.
'The show is about explaining who I was before kids,' says Diona.
'This will be the first time I have done a stand-up show for a month in Edinburgh, and this time it feels like business.
'I'm really hoping someone knocks on my door afterwards with a nice opportunity that wouldn't have come otherwise.'
Spotify has already come knocking following the success of the podcast, offering a partnership thanks to the listener numbers. The company also brought Diona over to its London headquarters and plugged the show on a massive billboard ad.
Actress and comedian Diona Doherty. Photo byThe star came up with the idea of a female-lead podcast which had the feel of a group of girls chatting in a bathroom on a night out.
'You'll end up sharing make up brushes and tampons and secrets and crying with someone you've never met before.
'You share silly stuff and serious stuff. Sometimes I forget people are listening.'
Following a family holiday recently Diona shared that while she was away she'd had a seizure which caused a fall.
She's had them since her teens, when epilepsy was ruled out, and now doctors are starting investigations again to find the cause.
'I fell and smacked my head on holiday, which was quite dangerous.
'I've taken them on and off since I was 13 but I haven't had one since 2020 and I thought motherhood might have saved me.
'I have no idea why I take them, and now we're back to the beginning again.
'I don't know what triggers it, and I do get a bit of warning, but I'm usually too tired to tell anyone,' says Diona.
Diona Doherty in Conversation with Jordan Arnold is on July 24 in Shorts Sports and Recreational Club as part of EastSide Arts.
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