There was shock and feckin’ anger among Mrs Brown’s Boys fans yesterday as Rory Cowan – who plays, er, Rory Brown – announced his departure.
The actor – who has worked with show Mrs Brown creator Brendan O’Carroll for 26 years – said he would not reveal his reason for quitting.
Naturally, this had everyone intrigued and led to speculation about disharmony among the cast, a shock given it appears so close-knit.
Well, Brendan has now spoken out about his co-star’s decision and, if he IS feeling in any way bitter, he’s not letting on.
Quite the opposite, in fact – he’s paid a lovely tribute.
“To all of us it feels like Ronaldo leaving Man Utd. But Ronaldo went on to amazing success which I know Rory will too,” he told The Irish Sun.
“I can’t even quantify the contribution Rory has made to our success and the well-being of me and my family, not just on screen or stage but way before that as a friend and a driving force in getting us here. He’s a legend.”
Awww.
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According to reports yesterday, Rory he hadn’t “been happy” on the comedy for some time now and had told Brendan O’Carroll last month that he wanted out.
The Irish actor played his last performance on the touring show on Sunday night.
“I hadn’t been happy working for the Mrs Brown’s Boys company for the last 18 months to two years,” he told the Irish Daily Mail.
“I feel that 26 years is enough so I decided it was time to go.
“I told Brendan on June 16 about my decision to leave.
“That’s when I handed in my notice.”
He added. “I was supposed to leave at the end of that week, but Brendan said that would be impossible and asked if I’d stay on until the end of the London O2 gigs. So I agreed to that.”
Now, we bet, like us, you’re wondering why it is that Rory hasn’t been happy on the show for so long.
Sadly, Rory isn’t playing ball and refuses to say why he’s decided to quit.
“I’m not going into details about why I was unhappy,” he said frustratingly.
“I did the final show [in London], packed my stuff into a small Waitrose plastic bag and just left the venue.”
Although Mrs Brown’s Boys has been a smash hit TV show it started out as a stage show which was a huge success around the word.
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The show became so popular that a film called Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie was released in 2014.