One of Father Ted's creators has told how Brendan Grace landed a role in the popular TV show.
Irish writer Arthur Mathews was key in choosing the comedian to play Fr Fintan Stack.
Speaking in the wake of Grace's tragic death, he said: "I knew of him since I was a kid and I always liked the idea of casting someone that I knew and was a fan of.
"We suggested him and he turned up and he had his own driver.
"He was very professional and I think he was living in America at the time.
"We didn't write it (the script) with him in mind but he did an audition and it was different to what we'd expected but it was very funny and more subtle.
"It was a bit more passive aggressive than outwardly aggressive.
"I think he liked the idea of appealing to a new audience.
"It was the second series so he would have know what the show is about, so he probably thought: 'I can reach a new audience by doing this show.' It worked out very well."
Matthews told how the Dubliner's "naturally funny" ways was a bit hit with the producers.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio One, he also paid tribute to the 68-year-old, who passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning following a short battle with lung cancer.
He said: "He was much more subtle. He had obviously thought about it and decided to it in a way that we wouldn't have thought of when we wrote it.
"He had that thing that people always want and it's to just be naturally funny.
"It's such a brilliant thing and not everyone has it. It was great to have him in the show.
"He's a legend he really was and he's a big loss, definitely."
