Mrs Brown’s Boys is back tonight with a brand-new Christmas special – but it has faced its fair share of scandals over the years.
The brainchild of comedian Brendan O’Carroll, the popular Irish sitcom follows the life of Agnes Brown.
Known in the BBC show as Mammy, Agnes has been making fans laugh for decades with her foul-mouthed antics.
But did you know the programme has been rocked by some scandals since hitting telly screens in 2011?
Mrs Brown’s Boys scandals: Swearing controversy
Mrs Brown is famous for turning the air blue with her repertoire of swear words.
But Mammy’s foul mouth has apparently caused problems in the past.
Brendan previously revealed that he was called into a meeting about Mrs Brown’s potty mouth in 2018.
Spilling the beans on his chat with then-BBC exec Danny Cohen, Brendan said: “You want me to stop saying [bleep] so you can put the show on at eight o’clock?
“And he said: ‘Exactly.’ I said: ‘The show is the show. Put it at eight o’clock, or put it on at half 10, put it on at half 12, the people who want to see it will find it.
“But the show is the show. I don’t care when you put it on, we are not changing the show.'”
Well, that told him…
Uproar in America
Brendan was apparently met with a similar request by US telly bosses in 2013.
They wanted to air Mrs Brown’s Boys across the pond but with the language toned right down.
The answer was the same, however.
At the time, Rory Cowan said: “By law if there is any swearing it has got to be beeped – and not just change the words. Brendan won’t agree to that at all.
“Brendan would stick to his guns. He would rather not change anything.”
Mrs Brown’s Boys scandals: Castmates divorce
Mrs Brown’s Boys was last year rocked by marriage heartbreak among the cast.
Fiona O’Carroll – Brendan’s daughter – and her husband and co-star Martin Delany – confirmed their separation.
The couple had tied the knot 15 years previously but said they had “grown apart”.
Speaking to RTE, Fiona said: “Myself and Martin met very young. I was 16, and I suppose he’s all I’ve ever known and we just kind of grew apart. We wanted different things.
“I still have a lot of love for him and I only want the best for him and I think he feels the same way about me.”
Fiona plays Mrs Brown’s daughter-in-law Maria in the TV sitcom. Martin, meanwhile, portrays Mammy’s youngest son Trevor.
The couple, who married in 2006, have four children together and continue to co-parent.
This is despite Martin now living in Portugal.
Fiona told The Irish Mirror this summer: “Martin is living his best life in Portugal and I am delighted for him.”
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‘Tax dodge’ claims
In 2017, three Mrs Brown’s Boys stars found themselves in the headlines when they were accused of “diverting more than £2 million into an offshore tax avoidance scheme”.
Now-separated couple Martin and Fiona, along with Paddy Houlihan, were named in BBC Panorama Paradise Papers for allegedly “transferring their fees into companies in Mauritius and receiving it back in the form of a loan”.
Although it was claimed the complex process meant the trio avoided paying tax, nothing they did was illegal.
Brendan later put up a robust defence in support of his daughter and co-stars.
He said: “It was just three actors. They did nothing illegal. They did absolutely nothing illegal.
“Here’s the big thing: Close the [bleep]ing loophole. It’s that simple. Close the [bleep]ing loophole. It must be facilitating something.”
Read more: OPINION: ‘Long live Mrs Brown’s Boys – even if it is as funny as a dose of something nasty!’
In a separate letter, he also raged: “She is not an oligarch laundering money through Greek banks, nor does she deal in the arms trade, deal drugs or traffic people.
“She has never committed a crime in her life, she doesn’t have a private yacht or own a collection of luxury cars. She drives a Kia people carrier which is necessary if you have four toddlers.”
Cut and run
Although Brendan created the role of Rory Brown especially for Rory Cowan, he initially turned it down.
Rory had been working behind-the-scenes, organising theatre shows and bookings, and was unsure about acting in front of a live audience.
However, he eventually had a change of heart.
But after taking on the character of Agnes Brown’s second eldest son and playing him on both stage and screen, Rory threw the towel in.
He quit Mrs Brown’s Boys in July 2017, insisting he had simply “got tired of it”.
Rory has since cut off contact with his cast mates.
Two years after quitting, he admitted to The Independent: “I don’t keep in touch with the people I worked with on Mrs Brown’s Boys. Not because I left on bad terms.
“It’s like anybody who changes jobs. You leave and you just don’t see the old work mates to used to work with.”
Following his exit, Rory Brown was played by Damien McKiernan.
Caitlyn Jenner backlash
Mrs Brown’s Boys was hit with controversy after an appearance by US star Caitlyn Jenner in 2020.
Caitlyn appeared on Agnes’ chat show All Round To Mrs Brown’s but some viewers were unhappy with a quip Brendan made.
The ex Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is a trans woman, formerly known as Bruce Jenner.
She was asked by Mrs Brown if she had female sex organs.
Caitlyn explained that she has 10 children, to which Mrs Brown replied: “Thank God you got rid of it.”
The US star told her: “I didn’t get rid of it, I just retired it.”
Some viewers spoke out in fury after watching the scene play out, with one tweeting: “Why is Brendan O’Carroll being so rude to Caitlyn Jenner?
“These ‘jokes’ are so low and insulting to not just her but trans women in general.
“He’s giving her such an awful impression of Ireland as a whole. I’m so embarrassed.”
Mrs Brown’s Boys scandals: Pay gap rumours
Scots-born actor Gary Hollywood is best known for his portrayal of hairdresser Dino Doyle in Mrs Brown’s Boys.
He played the character in both Brendan’s stage productions of Mrs Brown’s Boys and on screen for more than 20 years before sensationally quitting in 2020.
Gary left at the same time as his co-star Damien McKiernan and reports claimed departed amid a furious pay dispute.
It was claimed the pair had discovered they were being paid less than their co-stars.
However, Brendan has since quashed these rumours and insisted their departure was nothing to do with money.
He told Dublin Live: “Some people claimed Gary left because of a row over money but it wasn’t true.
“They didn’t know the full story and it was amicable.”
Gary is still acting and has also founded his own drinks company, Hollywood Spirits.
Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special, 10.25pm, BBC1, Christmas Day.
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