LOVE it or loathe it, Mrs. Brown’s Boys is a smash hit on the BBC. Now creator and star, Brendan O’Carroll, has dismissed critics who have branded the sitcom “transphobic”.

Mrs. Brown’s Boys…


If you haven’t tuned in, you may be surprised to know that the Irish TV sitcom is a ratings phenomenon, with a fan base not just in the UK and in Ireland, but across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Jamaica, proving a huge hit for the BBC since it launched in 2011. Produced in the United Kingdom by BBC Scotland, the show is filmed at Pacific Quay in Glasgow in front of a live audience and can draw up to 11 million viewers in Britain alone.

The premise?

Irish actor, comedian and writer O’Carroll plays Irish matriarch Agnes Brown, with several close friends and family members making up the cast, including his real life wife, Jennifer Gibney, playing Mrs Brown’s daughter Cathy. The show sees loudmouth Agnes meddle in the lives of her six children, with some colourful language and slapstick comedy thrown in.

And what are the critics saying?

TV critics have never been on board, but the sitcom has won favour with the public, seeing O'Carroll and the show itself take home a number of awards over the years, including Best Comedy at the National Television Awards on five occasions.

But what are the other critics saying?

O’Carroll, 67, has been accused of “transphobia” for his portrayal of the Irish matriarch and also of cultural appropriation for his decision to take on the role, rather than casting a female actor. Comments on social media range from "Shouldn't Mrs. Brown's Boys be cancelled on the grounds that it's transphobic?" to “Mrs. Brown's Boys is transphobic garbage”.

And what does O’Carroll say of his critics?

In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I don’t think about them, I write the show I write. I don’t ever think of myself as being a man playing a woman, when Mrs. Brown goes out on that stage she is a woman.” He added: “Where do you draw the line? Is it okay for Leonardo DiCaprio to play a carpenter or do we get a carpenter? Shouldn’t we get the best person for the job?” 

Elsewhere?

Fans backed O’Carroll, with one writing on Facebook: “The world has gone crazy with all the woke ideas. Stick up for yourself Brendan and do a show about the silly woke people” and another adding: “What about all the drag artists over the past centuries?”

Meanwhile?

O’Carroll's autobiography, Call Me Mrs Brown, comes out on October 13, while filming of this year’s festive episodes takes place in Glasgow later this month. Fiona O'Carroll, the real-life daughter of Brendan who stars as Mrs Brown’s daughter-in-law on the show - said that as well as the Christmas specials, new episodes will air in 2023. She added: “We’ve got the live show in November at the SSE Arena in Belfast and 3Arena in Dublin. And we're planning more theatre dates for next year."