Brendan O’Carroll’s comedy is back for a new series, despite the star’s on-set ‘racist joke’
I was surprised to see Mrs Brown’s Boys back on the BBC schedules this week. Not because it’s bad (though it is) and not because, after 14 years on television, it’s run its course (though it has). No, the shock came from the fact that last October, creator and star Brendan O’Carroll made a “racist joke” on the set of the Christmas special.
While we don’t know what was said, O’Carroll confirmed the incident happened in an apologetic statement. “At a read-through of the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied,” he said. “It backfired and caused offence which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.” The BBC investigated, found no issues and allowed filming to continue.
But wait – hasn’t John Torode just lost his job host MasterChef for making a racist comment during filming? Wasn’t radio presenter Danny Baker fired from 5 Live in 2019 after he compared Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s baby to a chimp? I am not sure what makes O’Carroll’s so-called “joke” so different, but the fact that he still has his job raises important questions about where the BBC draws its line of acceptability.
In the event, Friday’s opening episode isn’t in the least bit offensive (at least not in the traditional sense – it was offensive to anyone with even a slight sense of humour). However, there was certainly no traces of any of the big bad-isms. But just knowing that its creator has those jokes ready to go for when the cameras aren’t rolling makes the comedy (a word I am reluctant to use to categorise Mrs Brown’s Boys) more uncomfortable viewing than usual.
Cathy (Jennifer Gibney) has met a new man, Roger, who thinks she’s fascinating and wants her to start a podcast about the troubles women face on a daily basis. Agnes – after making a slew of obvious jokes based on the double entendre of “Roger” – accidentally ends up recording herself having a “feck”-laden, innuendo-heavy chat with her pals Winnie McGoogan (Eilish O’Carroll) and Birdie Flanaghan (June Rodgers). Roger ends up loving this accidental podcast and insists that Agnes and co must be part of Cathy’s project.
It’s all supposed to be hilarious as Agnes turns the conversation to the increasing price of potatoes and sex, but by the time the half hour of torture – sorry I mean viewing! – was up, my laugh count stood at the grand total of zero. It’s not news that this sitcom deals in tired, trope-reliant humour straight from the 70s, but every time I find myself watching it, I wonder who on Earth is still tuning in to this drivel.
O’Carroll, too, has a dim view of his audience’s intelligence. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t aware of what a podcast is these days, yet this episode wastes a good minute or so describing them as a “the newest form of entertainment/communication” and “a type of audio programme people listen to as entertainment”. Typically, Agnes still manages to ask if it’s a “sex thing”. Cue a big sigh from me – if you told me this episode was written a decade ago, I’d believe you.
Back in the day, Mrs Brown’s Boys divided opinion and caused debate. Now it’s so old hat that it only warrants a shrug and an eyeroll. It’s one thing to be controversial and even hated – it’s another thing entirely to be boring. The BBC might not see O’Carroll’s “racist joke” as reason enough to give him the shove, but certainly committing TV’s cardinal sin – being terminally, irretrievably dull – is ample grounds for dismissal. If these four episodes are the last we ever see of Agnes, then that can only be good news. Good riddance.
