Mrs Brown's Boys creator and star responds to show criticism: 'I don’t care'
Brendan O'Carroll isn't bothered by what his critics have to say.
Mrs Brown's Boys creator and lead, Brendan O'Carroll, simply isn't bothered about the backlash to his show from critics and some members of the public.
O'Carroll, who has played the title character in all four seasons of the comedy, was responding to the backlash to this year's festive episode, with some calling it "the worst television show".
"First of all, I'm well aware that comedy is very subjective," he told BBC Radio Sounds. "What some people like, other people just detest. So I don't take it too serious."
O'Carroll noted that the show continues to be a hit among families and has helped children with autism over the years.
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He explained: "When we started... by about the fourth or fifth episode, we got a couple of letters from people who had autistic children.
"It started as a couple of letters and it's now been over 3,000. And they said that their kids watched Mrs Brown and they heard them laugh in context for the very first time. One woman said she was in the kitchen and heard her son laughing for the very first time.
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"So when you get a letter like that, I don't care what the critics say. That'll do me."
Mrs Brown's Boys returns this year for two festive specials, one on Christmas Day and another on New Year's Day, and it'll be nothing short of chaos.
As per the synopsis, Mrs Brown wants a nice, peaceful Christmas, but her family members have other ideas.
"Cathy's decided to cook Christmas dinner for the first time ever, a sentimental decoration has gone missing and there's a surprise dinner guest, all of which have the potential to ruin Agnes's quiet Christmas." Oh dear!
Speaking about the episode to the BBC ahead of its release, O'Carroll said: "Agnes's focus completely switches from herself, which is usually who she thinks about most of all, to Father Jamie's mother. It catches her a bit by surprise.
"And I knew when I was writing this, it was going to be very hard to tackle in a comedy show, but I think we got it. I think we captured it just right because it's a Christmas miracle, and that's what everybody is looking for at Christmas, the magic."
Mrs Brown's Boys 2023 Christmas special airs on Christmas Day on BBC One at 10:45pm. Looking for something to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Comedy hub for the latest news.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
