Ghosts star Kiell Smith-Bynoe was seen looking furious after Mrs. Brown’s Boys picked up yet another National Television Award – but Brendan explained that it was all a big joke
Brendan O’Carroll has responded to Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s “side-eye” at last month’s National Television Awards.
The Ghosts actor was caught on camera not looking impressed when Brendan and his team scooped the award for “Best Comedy”.
However, Brendan, who writes and stars in Mrs. Brown’s Boys, confirmed that it was all joke and Kiell didn’t deserve the “hiding” he got online after the video was shared online.
Brendan told RSVP Live: “He was taking the p***. I know him. When Ant and Dec won their award, Lee Mack went up on stage and said that they couldn’t win the award.
“He was doing exactly the same thing without leaving his seat. He was having fun with it. I’ve often thought about taking my hat off and throwing it on the ground when we don’t win.
“I think the problem was he didn’t exaggerate it enough. He got a hiding for it online and he didn’t deserve it because he was joking.”
The Mrs. Brown’s Boys gang won the award for their mini-series.
Brendan added: “It was pretty cool. That mini series was our 50th episode. To get an NTA for your first series and to win again 10 years later is fabulous. We’ve six NTAs now, any more than that would be just greed [laughs].”
RTÉ is in a precarious situation at the moment and the production of Fair City and The Late Late Show will be outsourced soon. Mrs. Brown’s Boys is co-produced by RTÉ and BBC, but Brendan isn’t worried that the TV show won’t come back due to cost cutting.
He said: “When we started Mrs. Brown’s Boys on TV, I told the BBC that I wanted RTÉ involved. Their attitude was that they didn’t need RTÉ for budgets.
“But it was important to me that they were involved and we had a simultaneous broadcast. I feel sorry for RTÉ because we want it to be the same as the BBC even though we have a smaller population and a lot less people paying tax.
“We want our TV shows to be the same, our roads to be the same and our lights to be the same, but they can’t do that. If you compare what RTÉ and BBC spend each year, RTÉ is doing a phenomenal job. Everyone says, ‘RTÉ lost Father Ted’ or ‘RTÉ lost Ballykissangel’ –
“RTÉ didn’t lose them, RTÉ couldn’t afford to produce them. In our case, I’m delighted we brought them on board because the perception for a lot of people is that Mrs. Brown’s Boys is an RTÉ show being shown on BBC, not a BBC show being shown on RTÉ.”
Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Live Show is heading to Dublin, Galway, Kerry and Belfast in the lead up to Christmas. He and the gang film the TV show in front of a live audience, but there is a different thrill playing in arenas and seeing instant audience feedback.
Brendan explained: “Anyone in the film and TV business will tell you that when you’re doing it in front of a live audience in a theatre, there’s nothing that matches it.
“Absolutely nothing. It’s a phenomenal feeling. We’re playing Belgast and Dublin this month. When you hear 8,500 people laughing at the same time, your clothes begin to vibrate.”
