The Young Offenders cast discuss the hilarious adventures in series 4

Set in Cork, Ireland and created by Peter Foott, The Young Offenders tells the adventures of loveable rogues Conor (Alex Murphy) and Jock (Chris Walley) and their mother/guardian Mairead (Hilary Rose) as she tried to keep them on the straight and narrow.

Time has passed and everyone must navigate how relationships change with hilarious and heartwarming results after Conor and Jock find themselves on the wrong side of the law again.

The Young Offenders is available from Friday 10 May on BBC One and iPlayer.

Interview with Alex Murphy (Conor)

What can you tell us about the new series?

This series opens three years later, Conor is a man now and is fresh out of prison so he's trying to navigate his way through the modern reality as a man rather than a child and that's hard for him.

How will Conor cope without Jock?

I think the beauty with Conor and to be honest all of the characters in the show is they will cope with whatever is thrown at them. No matter what happens to these characters, they still hold on to some sort of hope. It is a struggle for him without Jock but he won't sink.

Conor returns to find his mum Mairead happily married and living with Sgt Healy, do you think Healy and Conor will ever get along?

Conor finds Healy really annoying and strict, he ruins all the plans. In this season you finally get to look behind the curtain as Conor will see what Healy's relationship is like with his father as Mairead forces them to spend some time together on a fishing trip.

Viewers will see that the dynamics have changed this series, can audiences still expect much of the same from The Young Offenders?

Conor's growing up, but he doesn't know how to really do that, so you're watching Conor trying to navigate adulthood and he can't be stealing any more otherwise he'll go back to prison and he doesn't want that, so he's forced to live by society's rules. He's hanging around more with Billy Murphy who probably sees a bit of himself in Conor who has learned to accept that Billy means well, even if he doesn't always execute it.  

What is it about the show that makes it so appealing?

I think every character is so flawed and every character has such strong motives that you can relate to someone in the show. And the writing is so good, every character learns something about themselves and with just comedy and improv and heartfelt moments throughout in 27 minutes, it's a brilliant show.

There's very little pop culture references in the show, they're very much in their own world. We have the twelve people we know and that's who we interact with and as viewer it's just a nice break to watch a show where nothing outside of their world is really referenced so for half an hour you can just chill out.

Interview with Chris Walley (Jock)

What can viewers expect from the new series of The Young Offenders?

You can expect the unexpected. With The Young Offenders you never know what to expect. When I heard the show was coming back, I was excited to see everyone again and get the band back together. Its been four years since we filmed the last series so to get everyone back together and just slip back into Jock is always good craic.

Whats different about your character from last season?

He has a ponytail and he's in prison and the only thing he really maintains is his fringe. His circumstances have changed an awful lot. He got himself into a bit of bother with Conor and now he's in a Colombian prison and has been for the past three and a half years.

You've been playing Jock since the very beginning, do you see any of yourself in him?

Absolutely I mean I think we're very alike in some aspects and then very dissimilar in a lot of aspects but he's got a good heart and he tries to do right but he's also a bit of a messer and I can probably relate a lot to those aspects.

What three words would you use to describe Jock?

Troublesome, kind and impulsive.

How do you feel your character has developed from series 1 to series 4?

Every episode with the lads, they go on a learning curve and by the next episode they've forgotten what they've learned. So they're always taking two steps forward, one step back. They're maturing a little bit and then they'll be immature again. Jock's got a child now so his circumstances are forcing him to mature but he'll always at heart be a child. So he'll never be too mature because if he was too mature there would be no comedy or no fun.

The cast seems to be very tight-knit off -camera. Is that actually the case?

Yes, we are all very close off -camera and we all hang out. That's just been the way since the start, since we did the film many moons ago and we all remain very close. The one cast member I always look forward to seeing is Alex, whenever we're back on set together it's always a lot of fun.

Why do you think The Young Offenders is so popular?

I think this show's probably been popular internationally because everyone can relate to the characters. Ultimately the show is about friendship and family and that's probably what people relate to the most. Everyone had a best friend/friends growing up and you probably found yourselves in some stupid situations. So I think it's a show that's very nostalgic to people as well, for many reasons.

Can you describe the new season in one word?

Unpredictable.

Interview with Hilary Rose (Mairéad)

Hilary, where do we find Mairéad at the start of the new series?

Mairéad is seeing her son again after three years as he's just come out of prison, but her life has changed substantially. She has freedom for the first time in her life without the two lads, she's married and living with Sgt Healy, they've got this lovely life together and she's in a place where she wanted to be and then we have her return of Conor, her jailbird son who throws a spanner in the works. It makes her living conditions and her life more difficult again.

Do you think Conor and Healy will ever get on?

Are Healy and Conor ever going to get on? I don't know. I mean Conor's worse nightmare is to come home and his new stepdad is a Garda. So it's a nightmare for him. I don't know how they can ever resolve that.

You've had some great guest stars over the years, who would you love to see in future episodes?

I'm going to say Jason Momoa straight off the bat. I think he'd fit in quite well and he does like the Guinness. Fiona Shaw would also be great. What a powerhouse of a woman from Cork.

What is it about the show that makes it so appealing?

It's like it's like a mini feature film every 27 minutes. All the characters are super relatable.

Interview with Shane Casey (Billy Murphy)

What can you tell us about Billy in the new series?

Billy is really excited that Conor is back in Cork. He's excited about causing more mayhem and having more fun. Later in the series we learn there's a fake fake Billy Murphy and he really wants to get to the bottom and find out who this fake Billy is. So he has a bit of an adventure planned and he's really excited that Conor's on board with finding out who fake fake Billy is.

Will Billy try to replace Jock in Conor's life?

Yeah, I think he sees an opportunity now Jock isn't around, he wants to be Conor's buddy so he's in there fairly quickly. He thinks he can be like a big brother to Conor but as always it's not a straightforward journey with him.

You've had some great guest stars over the years, who would you like to feature in future episodes?

It would be an obvious one to have the famous people from Cork on the show so we would love Cillian Murphy to pop up at some point. Jonathan Rhys -Meyers is also from Cork and I know Michael Fassbender is from Killarney, it would be great to have him on the show too.

What reaction have you had from viewers to the show?

I often get feedback from people saying how much they love the show, Billy and the characters and that's very rewarding. I've travelled around different places and have been recognised and it's been lovely for people to come up and say how much they really love the show. I know Callum from It's a Sin watches it with his father and that's amazing to me that one of the top actors out there enjoys our show.

What is it about The Young Offenders that makes the show so appealing to audiences?

It's got heart no matter what the characters do, they all make mistakes, but it's got heart.

How would you best describe The Young Offenders to someone who isn't familiar with the show?

Its very funny. I've been watching the old series on BBC iPlayer and I keep picking up on little nuanced moments that I didn't see originally because I'm so obsessed with my own performance. When I do see it again I'm like oh that's good, the show does have lovely repeat qualities. It doesn't focus too much on what's going on in the real world. There's a woman my mother knows at bingo and she said to her if I'm ever feeling lonely, I just put on The Young Offenders DVD and watch it and that's a great vote of confidence. I think its important for people to be able to switch off, put their phones down for a bit and have a laugh.