Fair play.
Brendan O’Carroll revealed that he turned down quite a bit of money to allow Mrs Brown’s Boys to be shown in Russia.
The hit comedy is broadcast all over the world in countries including the US, Australia, South Africa and Iceland but Brendan said he refused to let it be shown in Russia after the networks there wanted to make a crucial change.
“They didn’t want any gay, Russia in particular,” he told Marion Finucane on Radio 1.
“It was a nice little deal, it’s a big country so the fee you’d charge for the licensing is audience-related, so it’s a big audience and it would have been a nice fee.”
“But no gay, absolutely no gay. So I said no gay, no show.”
The character of Rory, played until earlier this year by Rory Cowan, is gay.
In Romania, where the show is also aired, he appears but his sexuality is never mentioned, Brendan explained.
Looking ahead to this year’s Christmas special, he refused to say much about who would be replacing Rory Cowan but did say how the ‘new Rory’ is revealed.
“The new Rory, well it’s the old Rory, but he’s had plastic surgery, and the bandages come off on Christmas Day and everybody gets to see him.”
