At the end of the day… Nicola Coughlan

Acting takes me all over the place.

I’m always in different hotels – and that’s nothing to do with my romantic life. It’s weird, because I wake up and think, ‘Where am I? What country am I in?’ It’s a bit disconcerting.

I’m a permanent fixture in the airport lounge. They know me now – they’re like, ‘You’re back again!’ All those familiarities are important if you travel a lot.

I miss the comfort of home when I’m away. It can be really hard. Acting is an amazing career, but it does come with huge sacrifices. There are family events you’ll miss when you’re working hard hours.

Family is very important to me. So whenever I’m not working, I spend as much as time as possible with them in Galway. I have a little niece and nephews, so I try to be there to see them grow up.

Galway is a really lovely place. The people are so warm – it’s got a really creative atmosphere. There’s a lot of hustle and bustle with my job, so I do like to go back and recharge. London can feel overwhelming.

When I’m in Belfast,

I get followed around a lot. Especially if I’m with another Derry Girl. It’s often groups of teenage girls who will follow us around the shops.

People are really friendly. Although sometimes people give me advice on my Derry accent. Some have said it wasn’t that good in the first episode, but it got better as the series went along. But everything wasn’t filmed in sequence, so I’m like, ‘Oh, OK – thanks so much.’ There were people online saying the accents were terrible, but my co-stars Saoirse [ Jackson] and Jamie [Donnell] are actually from Derry.

After a day on set, the five of us Derry Girls would head back to the apartment block in Belfast. We’d drink some wine and set the world to rights. It was lovely and I think that’s why we’ve become so close.

My drink of choice is prosecco. I love to sit in and watch Netflix with a cold glass of it. I know it’s like drinking a bottle of sugar – I am trying to slow it down!

I love to cook, but because I’ve been moving around so much for work, I haven’t had a proper kitchen of my own. I’m crazy for Wahaca – I go to one branch so much that they know my name there.

I need a lot of sleep. I’ve become better at functioning on a little, but I’m pretty cranky when I don’t get enough. I once got an early pick-up and bumped into Adrian Dunbar from Line Of Duty in the lift.

I was so mortified – I had to turn and face the wall. I was like a cranky baby.

If I can’t sleep, I often do the Guardian crossword. But then I get agitated if I don’t know a word and start questioning my intelligence. My phone stops me sleeping well. I’m always scrolling through

Instagram – it’s the first thing

I check in the morning. I’m so addicted, I’m like,

‘Everyone’s having fun,

I should be doing things.’ I should grow up, I mean, I’m in my thirties!

The last person I messaged was my sister. We send each other pictures of our double chins. There’s always something to talk about – today we were talking about how handsome Richard Madden is.

Catch up with series one and two of ‘Derry Girls’ on All4 now