Inside Mrs Brown’s Boys biggest scandals – £2m tax dodge, resignations, marriage split & ‘awful’ Caitlyn Jenner joke

MRS Brown’s Boys has been entertaining – and infuriating – viewers for the last 10 years, and it hasn’t been short of scandal either.

Despite having millions of viewers every week and even a smash-hit movie, Brendan O’Carroll – who created the controversial Irish mammy – has had to defend the BBC show on many occasions and received scathing reviews.

And, while Mrs Brown and her clan – played by Brendan’s real-life family and friends – are always having a laugh on-screen, backstage is a different matter.

The cast has been rocked by a £2million tax scandal, a row over pay and one former cast member’s departure due to the “gruelling” nature of the show.

The atmosphere behind the scenes has even been described as “uncomfortable and sometimes even toxic”.

And it’s sure to be even frostier now, as Brendan’s daughter Fiona O’Carroll – who plays Maria Brown – has split from her husband Martin Delaney, also on the show, after 15 years.

Here, we take a look at the rows and scandals behind one of Britain’s biggest comedies.

Quit over pay gap row

It didn’t go well for two members of the Mrs Brown’s Boys cast, Gary Hollywood and Damien McKiernan, when they confronted bosses after discovering they were being paid less than their co-stars.

After the row, Gary – who played Dino – was told he’d only be appearing in one of the show’s Christmas episodes, and Damien’s character, Dino’s husband Rory, was promptly written out completely.

A source told the Daily Star last year: “Gary and Damien were confused and hurt when they realised they were getting paid less than the others. When they raised the issue it did not go down very well.

“Gary was later told he would only be appearing in one of this year’s Christmas specials. That was the last straw, so he told them he was quitting.

The news was worse for Damien who, according to the newspaper, was given some “heartbreaking” news.

The insider added: “He was simply told he is being written out. They are both heartbroken that things have turned out this way. Work on two festive episodes has already started without the pair.”

£2m tax dodge

In November 2017, three cast members were caught up in Panorama’s Paradise Papers leak and accused of “diverting more than £2million” into an offshore tax avoidance scheme.

Formerly married pair Martin and Fiona Delany and Patrick Houlihan – who plays Dermot Brown – allegedly had their fees from the show transferred to companies in Mauritius, before receiving it back in the form of a “loan”.

However, nothing they did was illegal, as cash was then sent to a trust set up by offshore law firm Appleby, with the trust taking 12.5 per cent.

The trio reportedly all had individual trusts, which they were the self-employed contractors of, meaning they had to “recommend” that their earnings be sent back to the UK in the form of loans.

Patrick claimed he was introduced to the scheme by Roy Lyness – the accountant linked to a tax avoidance scheme used by Jimmy Carr – but he insisted he “never knew what the f**k was going on.”

Brendan launched a passionate defence of his daughter and son-in-law and attacked the BBC’s Panorama for the way they treated them.

In a long, blistering letter, he raged: “She is not an oligarch laundering money through Greek banks, nor does she deal in the arms trade, deal drugs or traffic people.

“She has never committed a crime in her life, she doesn’t have a private yacht or own a collection of luxury cars. She drives a Kia people carrier which is necessary if you have four toddlers.”

He continued: “There seems to be an effort going on to tarnish the name of the show. But I’m sure the viewers know us better, that we are upfront, and always have been.

“No-one involved with Mrs Brown’s Boys has done anything illegal. Everybody that featured in that show did what they did for completely different reasons.

Shock resignation

Before Damien played Rory on the show, Rory Ewan was in the role from its conception.

But, he quit in July 2017, confessing: “I got tired of it, I haven’t been happy for the last two years working there.

“There was no row with Brendan, there was no dispute over money or anything, in fact quite the opposite, I got so well paid that it enabled me to be able to leave, I didn’t need to stay.”

Speaking on The Late Late show in Ireland, Brendan added that Rory left as “he found touring gruelling. All my family go on the road”.

Despite leaving on “amicable” terms, Rory has since said he no longer speaks to his former colleagues.

In 2019, he told the Independent: “I get texts from Brendan every few months saying there are repeat fees from the TV series going into my account, but that’s it really.

“But I wish them all the best and I’d imagine they wish the same for me. But we don’t see each other anymore. That’s the same in any job really.”

Caitlyn Jenner controversy

When Caitlyn Jenner appeared on All Round to Mrs Brown’s, Agnes’ chat show, there was quite a lot of controversy over one particular joke.

Mrs Brown asked Caitlyn – who is a trans woman, formerly known as Bruce Jenner – if she had female sex organs.

When Caitlyn explained that she has 10 children, stunned Mrs Brown quipped: “Thank God you got rid of it.”

Caitlyn quickly replied: “I didn’t actually get rid of it, I just retired it.”

Many viewers were offended by the conversation and found it problematic, taking to Twitter to air their opinion.

One tweeted: “Just watching #AllRoundToMrsBrowns & you’re really crossing the line with Caitlyn Jenner. There’s a time & a place, and putting someone on the spot with ‘have you got a p***y?’ is low.”

Another fumed: “Why is Brendan O’Carroll being so rude to Caitlyn Jenner? These ‘jokes’ are so low and insulting to not just her but trans women in general. He’s giving her such an awful impression of Ireland as a whole. I’m so embarrassed.”

Sweary rows

Mrs Brown’s Boys is known for its foul language and Brendan has repeatedly refused to tone down the swearing in his show – even by the BBC.

During early meetings with the channel, he was asked to cut swear words from his scripts in order for the show to be aired before the watershed.

Television executive Danny Cohen, who worked as controller for BBC One at the time, told him he could become a massive star if his shows were shown earlier.

Brendan said he told him: “The show is the show. Put it at eight o’clock, or put it on at half 10, put it on at half 12, the people who want to see it will find it. But the show is the show. I don’t care when you put it on, we are not changing the show.”

Brendan had a similar request from US TV networks in 2013, when some contacted him to give them permission to remake the hit sitcom for audiences over the pond.

At the time, Rory Cowan said: “By law if there is any swearing it has got to be beeped – and not just change the words. Brendan won’t agree to that at all.

“Brendan would stick to his guns. He would rather not change anything.”

NTAs outrage

Despite Mrs Brown’s Boys being one of BBC’s biggest hits – constantly getting millions of viewers – there was outrage when the show won the National Television Award for Best Comedy in 2020.

It had already been given the award in 2013, 2014 and 2015, but, in 2020 there was particular anger as it beat out four huge shows: After Life, Fleabag, Derry Girls and Sex Education.

After the announcement, furious fans of rival shows took to Twitter to vent.

One person said: “Forget Coronavirus, Brexit, bushfires or tensions in the Middle East… Mrs Browns Boys won an NTA ahead of @rickygervais After Life! Stop the planet… I want to get off.”

“Mrs. Brown’s Boys winning the Comedy award is a prime example why people in the UK shouldn’t be trusted when voting,” added another.

Movie panned

The NTAs weren’t the first time people have shown their disdain for the show.

Mrs Brown’s Boys has been bombarded with scathing reviews for years.

The Independent dubbed it “the worst comedy ever made,” while the Observer called it “shameless excrescence”. 

Metro called on BBC to “hang its head in shame” for showing “this drivel” – and the movie that came out in 2014 was panned too.

Empire said it was “shambolically performed by the majority of its cast”, while the BBC’s very own Mark Kermode claimed it was “an absolute stinker” and “not funny on any level, at all”.

It has 6% on Rotten Tomatoes, but there are still plans for a sequel.