The forthcoming Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas special underwent substantial changes in case “something happened to the Queen” before airing, its creator has revealed.
Brendan O’Carroll, who created and stars in the popular BBC sitcom, claimed that the BBC asked for changes to a plotline regarding the 94-year-old monarch.
The special episode, which will air on BBC One on Christmas Day, features a scene in which Agnes Brown (O’Carroll) delivers her own irreverent reply to the Queen’s Speech.
Speaking to The Irish Sun, O’Carroll said: “I flagged it early to the BBC I was going to do this, and the BBC said fine but said we have to be careful about this. I replied: ‘Why? Are you afraid of offending the Queen? Sure you only have to look at what The Crown is doing!’
“They said suppose something happens to the Queen, before Christmas comes? If we put that bit in the main body of the show, then we will have to scrap the show. I went ‘wow, you’re right!’”
O’Carroll agreed with the broadcaster that the character would issue her own Queen’s address over the episode’s end credits, becoming a “kind of tagline”.
Channel 4 recently announced that it would be using deepfake CGI technology to broadcast its own version of the Queen’s Speech this Christmas.
The actual speech will be aired, as usual, on BBC One and ITV, while Channel 4’s faked version will be broadcast simultaneously.
