Mrs Brown has landed Irish comedian Brendan O’Carroll his own BBC gameshow, with the fictional Irish mother-of-five at the helm.
O’Carroll, as the fictional Agnes Brown, will host a new gameshow called ‘Mrs Brown’s Celebrities’ for the UK broadcaster, which will see five celebrities help two contestants compete in a comedy quiz. The final round will see the celebrities use their own knowledge to win the show.
ITV’s 12 Yard Productions will produce a 40-minute pilot for the BBC, with a series expected to air in 2013. Production is scheduled to begin next month in Salford Studios in Manchester.
The brainchild of Dublin-born comic O’Carroll, ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ continues to reign on the comedy circuit throughout the world, having already nabbed O’Carroll a number of international format sales. A feature film based on the TV show is also being developed.
The series currently airs on BBC One in a peak time slot, starring O’Carroll, his wife Jennifer Gibney, his son Danny and daughter Fiona. It initially aired on RTÉ in 2010, and went on to win an IFTA and a BAFTA Award this year. The series is a BBC Scotland co-production with BocPix in association with RTÉ.
The new gameshow has been commissioned by BBC One controller Danny Cohen, BBC Entertainment commissioning controller Mark Linsey and BBC Entertainment commissioning executive editor Alan Tyler. O’Carroll’s Dublin-based solicitor Simon Carty was on hand to close the deal.
Speaking about ‘Mrs Brown’s Celebrities’, Tyler said Mrs Brown is one of the “crown jewels of BBC comedy”, adding that the BBC is “thrilled” to have the character on board for another show. A six-episode series is expected to air on Saturday nights on BBC One in spring/summer 2013.
