Controversial BBC sitcom confirms return to TV after racist slur apology – and it's just weeks away
DATE SEALED Controversial BBC sitcom confirms return to TV after racist slur apology – and it's just weeks away
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A CONTROVERSIAL BBC sitcom has been confirmed to return to TV despite the show's star being forced to apologise over a racial slur.
The Beeb have officially revealed the show will be back for a fifth series and it's only weeks away.
Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter
Sign up
3
A controversial BBC sitcom has been confirmed to return to TV despite the show's star being forced to apologise over a racial slur
Credit: Graeme Hunter Pictures
3
The Beeb have officially revealed the show will be back for a fifth series on August 1st
Credit: BBC
Mrs Brown's Boys will return for its fifth series on Friday 1st August at 9:30pm on BBC One.
The BBC tease: "Agnes Brown and the gang from Finglas are back!
"Everyone's favourite Irish Mammy returns for a brand new fifth series featuring all your favourite characters, so get ready for more slapstick shenanigans this spring!"
The BBC's head of comedy, Jon Petrie added: "Brendan has created an iconic comedy character in Agnes Brown.
"Mrs. Brown's Boys is a BAFTA-winning comedy show and one of the BBC's most-watched comedies ever. I'm proud to have it in the BBC Comedy stable."
The BBC have also reportedly commissioned a full series of a new comedy starring Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll alongside Tommy Cannon.
Filming on the series is due to commence in July and will air on BBC One.
Titled Shedites, Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan Carroll plays the lead role 'Jimmy', with Tommy Cannon starring as his best friend.
Produced by BBC Studios, Brendan's Mrs Brown's Boys co-writer Paddy Houlihan scripted Shedites.
Speaking to The Irish Sun in December 2023, Brendan shared: 'I've been advocating for the BBC to make this show for a long time because as well as being really funny, it highlights men's mental health.
Mrs Brown's Boys star insists racist joke at Christmas special filming 'was a good thing' for the BBC because it 'raised awareness'
'It's not something men talk about, but it's got easier because of the men's shed movement which has sprung up in UK and Ireland.
'There's a kitchen, a card table and all that but even more important, men can go there and talk through their problems.'
It comes following calls from Jon Petrie, The Director of Comedy at the BBC, to "save our sitcoms."
He previously said: "If our comedy eco-system is shrinking, then it's on all us to fight for the right of UK mainstream comedy to exist.
Best BBC comedies
A BBC boss called on the industry to "save our sitcoms", but the corporation has a history of fantastic shows.
We look back at some of the best to ever grace the screen.
Fawlty Towers (1975-1979) - Only two series were made of the beloved institution. However, the cultural impact of the series starring John Cleese and Connie Booth spans decades. It follows rude and intolerant Basil Fawlty (Cleese) as he attempts to improve the reputation of his hotel.
Only Fools and Horses (1981-2003) - The show was crowned by some as the best British sitcom of all time by a TV poll in 2004. Seven series were broadcast on BBC until 1991 with additional sporadic Christmas specials airing until 2003. Sir David Jason starred as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter whilst Nicholas Lyndhurst played his younger half-brother Rodney. Set in working-class Peckham in south-east London, it follows the highs and lows of the lives of the Trotters', in particular their brazen attempts to get rich.
Blackadder (1983 - 1989) - Four series were made of the iconic show, created by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. Each series spans a different historical period as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder (Atkinson) tries to better himself in each society. Accompanied by his dogsbody Baldrick (Tony Robinson), trouble always ensues. A TV poll in 2004 found that Blackadder was voted the second-best British sitcom of all time
Absolutely Fabulous (1992 - 2012) - Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley star as failing PR guru Edina 'Eddie' Monsoon and alcoholic fashionista Patsy Stone. The pair embark on heavy-drinking sessions and abuse drugs in a desperate attempt to stay 'hip'. Eddie constantly chases bizarre fads and fails to lose weight whilst her disappointed and neglected daughter Saffy (Julia Sawalha) looks on.
Little Britain (2003 - 2006) - The premise is simple. A sketch show which features different British people from all walks of life that are engaged in all sorts of comical scenarios. Starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the pair created iconic pop culture characters. Viewers loved obnoxious council estate teenager Vicky Pollard, morbidly obese scrounger Bubbles Devere, slimming coach Marjorie Dawes, despondent office worker Carol Beer, disgraced politician Sir Norman Fry, of course the iconic Lou and Andy!
The Catherine Tate Show (2004-2015) - A sketch show starring the likes of Catherine Tate. She made iconic characters such as rowdy schoolgirl Lauren Cooper with her line 'Am I bovvered?'. Other characters featured Bernie the nurse, the aga saga woman, complaining couple Janice and Ray, and of course her infamous 'Nan', Joannie Taylor. The last character herself spawned multiple specials and even a movie.
Gavin and Stacey (2007 - Present) The series tells the story of Gavin (Matthew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page). The pair embarked on an online and telephone romance for six months. But when they finally decide to be together properly, their friends and family get in the way. Ruth Jones and James Corden created the beloved show, which has been going for over a decade. The 2019 Christmas special was the most-watched comedy in 17 years and the most-viewed non-sporting event in a decade.
"The sitcom isn't dead but it needs a couple of Berocca. And a black americano with two sugars."
News of the Mrs Browns boys return comes after Brendan O'Carroll was forced to issue a grovelling apology after he cracked a 'joke' using the N-word in front of a junior member of production who was so upset they later quit.
Last year, the BBC temporarily halted filming of the show's Christmas special after Brendan made the attempted gag which he later admitted it had backfired.
A TV insider said: 'Virtually everyone in the room on the day that the outburst happened were shocked, but the reading continued for some time without anyone saying or doing anything as they were so stunned.
'There was no excuses for what he said or any kind of context or mitigation he could provide for making the slur, he just seemed to think it was amusing.'
Brendan said of the incident: 'At a read-through of the Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, where a racial term was implied.
'It backfired and caused offence, which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Spectator
Tim Davie isn't fit to lead the BBC
Those within the BBC might be afraid to say so, but an ex-producer like me has no such qualms: Tim Davie, the BBC's Director-General, isn't cut out for the job. For the good of the BBC, Davie must go. The last few weeks have been painfully bad for Davie. The Masterchef saga, which led to the departure of not one, but both main presenters, is the final nail in the coffin, after blunders over Glastonbury and Gaza. A review of the BBC's February documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was released last week, found the programme had breached editorial guidelines for accuracy, having failed to disclose that its child narrator was the son of a Hamas agricultural official. The review didn't, however, find any breaches of impartiality. The BBC exonerated, then. Except Davie himself wasn't. Because instead of having backed the filmmakers over the row, he and the BBC Chair, Samir Shah, ran for cover as hard as possible and let them take all the incoming flak. The feeling within the BBC is that both Davie and Shah have been hopeless and craven in their response to this saga. The programme was not 'a dagger to the heart' of the BBC's claim to impartiality, as Shah jumped the gun by saying in March. But don't hold your breath for Shah to apologise for those comments, and to reassure filmmakers that, as their boss, he is protecting their backs. Or for Davie to do so. BBC management's main concern has been to put the blame on somebody else. Some hapless line producer will be made to walk the plank – and the independent company that made the film hung out to dry – so they can retain their crowns, as happened at Glastonbury, where the BBC failed to cut the live stream of an act leading an anti-IDF (Israel Defense Forces) chant. Part of the problem stems from Davie's background. As Ben de Pear, director of another film, on Gaza medics, which Channel 4 screened after the BBC refused to show it, said recently: Davie is 'a PR person' who doesn't understand journalism. 'Davie is taking editorial decisions which, frankly, he is not capable of making,' said de Pear. It's hard to fault that analysis: Davie has never made a programme in his life. When he worked in PR, the only thing he is remembered for is his role in helping Pepsi turn their cans blue (sales went up by 0.1 per cent, so that went well). As an ex-BBC producer, I know things would have been different under Davie's predecessors. BBC Chairs like Michael Grade would have been bullish in their defence of their staff. Alasdair Milne resigned as DG rather then let the government walk all over the BBC in the 1980s. Both men had been filmmakers themselves. Unlike Davie, they had served on the front line. They knew what it means to make difficult editorial judgments. And they knew, above all, they would only retain the loyalty of their own staff if they defended them when it was right to do so. Davie doesn't. If things were going fine for the Corporation, having a lightweight at the helm wouldn't matter. But there are some weighty issues the BBC needs to address and is conspicuously failing to do. The BBC strategy over recent years has been to compete with streamers like Netflix and Amazon by producing its own prestige dramas as justification for the licence fee. This strategy has been failing, and licence fee avoidance growing, because it simply does not have the same deep pockets as its rivals. The BBC couldn't even afford the proper shooting of a sequel to Wolf Hall, which should have been a shoo-in. Producer Peter Kosminsky has revealed that many scenes had to be cut because there simply wasn't the money. Instead, the BBC needs to regain its ambition when it comes to factual television. That this can be hugely successful has been shown by both Netflix – their recent Trainwreck series on disasters – and HBO. It also has the signal advantage of having become far, far cheaper. While drama has got absurdly expensive, technology allows documentaries to be shot by just a handful of people these days and edited on a laptop. There is a real and unfulfilled appetite for knowing how others live in our increasingly compartmentalised world. Yet not only is the BBC failing to meet this challenge, Davie seems blithely unaware it's a challenge at all. The BBC's Annual Report last week – top-dressed with bland words that read as if written by AI, like 'Our goal is to deliver outstanding value' – didn't bother even to properly quantify their documentary output. Davie and the BBC are in a unique position to make factual programmes about Britain for a British audience very cheaply, if they wanted to, and secure the corporation's place as a national treasure. But that would need a huge reset to direct resources away from the current dull schedule of occasional marquee drama projects and police procedurals, bulked out with endless repeats ('Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?' – for the thousandth time). It would need a Director-General with vision and drive and the confidence of his staff to make this change. Instead, 100 BBC staff recently wrote to complain about the behaviour of BBC management over the Gaza medics documentary, but had to do so anonymously. It's hardly the sign of a happy organisation. Davie has had five years in post, with nothing to show for his £547,000-a-year salary (executive 'remuneration' is another issue at the BBC that needs addressing). It is simply not enough for Davie to manage decline and deal with the regular upsets which broadcasting, like politics, will always provide; particularly when he is reacting to them so badly. Never has the BBC needed to have a visionary in post more if it is to survive. And never has it had someone so clearly inadequate for the job. Davie needs to go. Not just because of the MasterChef and Gaza and Glastonbury mistakes, but because, in five years, he has shown no vision for the direction the BBC needs to take to reclaim its position as a broadcaster worthy of the licence fee. When the BBC comes to replace Davie, as it soon surely will – and should – perhaps they might choose somebody who's actually made a programme in their lives. Or Netflix will be making 'Trainwreck: The BBC'. Hugh Thomson won the Grierson Award and has been BAFTA-nominated for his series for the BBC
North Wales Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Oti Mabuse ‘delighted' as she receives Freedom of the City of London
The 34-year-old South African has been recognised for her 'significant achievements in contemporary dance and her charitable work'. She has had a successful dancing career, winning the South African Latin American championships eight times and is one of the most successful professionals to have appeared on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, having won the show two years in a row. To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly's very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable Mabuse, who attended a ceremony at Guildhall with family and friends on Wednesday, said: 'I am delighted to have received the Freedom of the City of London for my dance and charitable work, and I am very grateful to Chris Hayward and Keith Bottomley for nominating me. 'To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly's very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable.' Mr Hayward is the policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, while Mr Bottomley is the sheriff-elect of the City of London. Former Strictly head judge Goodman died in 2023 aged 78. Mabuse won Strictly in 2019 and 2020 and has also appeared on The Greatest Dancer as a dance captain and as a judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice. Mr Hayward said: 'Having won a clutch of dance titles during her career and a place in our hearts, mostly, down to her appearances on the hugely popular 'Strictly', I am sure that Oti's Freedom will be welcomed warmly by her many admirers. 'Away from the dance world, her work with Unicef to raise awareness of the support needed by premature babies and their mothers, is highly commendable, and I am very happy to join my colleague, Keith Bottomley, in nominating Oti for the Freedom.' Mr Bottomley said: 'As well as impressing us on the dance floor, Oti Mabuse's charitable work with women and young people in communities across London, and overseas with Unicef, deserves our admiration and respect. 'It has been a pleasure to nominate Oti to be admitted into the Freedom, and I am sure that she will have very happy memories of today for many years to come.' The tradition of the freedom of the city is believed to date back to 1237. Past recipients include comedian, actor and writer Sir Lenny Henry and Lady Mary Peters, who won an Olympic gold medal in the athletics pentathlon in 1972, as well as Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Lady Sarra Hoy.
South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Oti Mabuse ‘delighted' as she receives Freedom of the City of London
The 34-year-old South African has been recognised for her 'significant achievements in contemporary dance and her charitable work'. She has had a successful dancing career, winning the South African Latin American championships eight times and is one of the most successful professionals to have appeared on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, having won the show two years in a row. To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly's very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable Mabuse, who attended a ceremony at Guildhall with family and friends on Wednesday, said: 'I am delighted to have received the Freedom of the City of London for my dance and charitable work, and I am very grateful to Chris Hayward and Keith Bottomley for nominating me. 'To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly's very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable.' Mr Hayward is the policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, while Mr Bottomley is the sheriff-elect of the City of London. Former Strictly head judge Goodman died in 2023 aged 78. Mabuse won Strictly in 2019 and 2020 and has also appeared on The Greatest Dancer as a dance captain and as a judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice. Mr Hayward said: 'Having won a clutch of dance titles during her career and a place in our hearts, mostly, down to her appearances on the hugely popular 'Strictly', I am sure that Oti's Freedom will be welcomed warmly by her many admirers. 'Away from the dance world, her work with Unicef to raise awareness of the support needed by premature babies and their mothers, is highly commendable, and I am very happy to join my colleague, Keith Bottomley, in nominating Oti for the Freedom.' Mr Bottomley said: 'As well as impressing us on the dance floor, Oti Mabuse's charitable work with women and young people in communities across London, and overseas with Unicef, deserves our admiration and respect. 'It has been a pleasure to nominate Oti to be admitted into the Freedom, and I am sure that she will have very happy memories of today for many years to come.' The tradition of the freedom of the city is believed to date back to 1237. Past recipients include comedian, actor and writer Sir Lenny Henry and Lady Mary Peters, who won an Olympic gold medal in the athletics pentathlon in 1972, as well as Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Lady Sarra Hoy.
