Strabane comedienne to make her TV debut tonight in BBC show

FANS of Strabane comedian and singer Emer Maguire will be glued to their screens tonight as she makes her TV debut in the new sitcom How’s She Cuttin’?

Already a well-known presence on stage and radio, Emer recently completed her first US shows in New York.

Now, she joins the ensemble cast of How’s She Cuttin’?, written by and starring Claire Corrigan.

Emer plays Nora, the naive friend of Claire’s character, who plots to keep a newly arrived ‘Yank’ in town after Claire falls for him.

The show also features Jo Donnelly as Kathleen, Brendan Quinn as T.J., and Adam Gillian as ‘The Yank.’

Asked how she landed the role, Emer said: “A producer I knew asked me to audition for a pilot for a new show as they thought I’d be good for it.

“Initially, I thought ‘that’s not for me’ as, although I’d been asked to act before, I didn’t think I’d be good at it so declined. Eventually, I thought, ‘aye I’ll give it a go. Sure if I get it, I get it, and if I don’t, no-one will ever see the audition!’”

Emer was offered the role of Nora over Christmas and describes her character as ‘a civil being, well-meaning but quite naïve’.

“Nora is a nice character, and I enjoyed playing her a lot. I based her actually on myself, just a sillier, more gullible version of myself. She has been compared to a Fr. Dougal-type character, and I think that’s probably the best description. The show’s humour is very different from my own—it’s much more slapstick, and it was such fun to film.”

Coming from a non-acting background, Emer admitted to feeling a mix of excitement and nerves.

“I have to admit it was exciting but a wee bit terrifying as my character is such a huge part of the show.

“Luckily, I got on with the entire cast from the first day, and everyone was having the craic from the first moment. Everyone is just lovely. It got to the stage where we had to do retakes as everyone was laughing so hard!”

With the pilot ready to air, Emer is hopeful for a full series where she can further showcase her acting skills.

When asked if she would consider more acting roles, she said: “To be honest, I would. I’ve always said no in the past, but since this experience went so well, I’d love to do more on, hopefully, a full series of How’s She Cuttin’?”

Fans can catch Emer’s debut tonight at 10.40pm on BBC One NI.