Son of late actor Dermot Morgan has hit back at one of his Father Ted co-stars who says he told the Fr Ted Crilly actor to go to the doctor during filming of the final episode.
Patrick McDonnell, who played Eoin McLove in the hit Channel 4 comedy, told of his fears for Dermot Morgan during filming of the final episode.
He said he wanted Morgan, who died of a heart attack aged 45 one day after filming wrapped in 1998, to go to a doctor.
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Speaking at the Comic Con event in Dublin on Saturday McDonnell recalled how Morgan became “very unfocused” filming the iconic sit-com set on the fictional Craggy Island.
He said: “It was like he had something like gout, there were all sorts of rumours about what was wrong.
“He was very unfocused on the set. When we recorded that, he did forget lines quite a bit. It was kind of hard to concentrate and keep the concentrating up that night.”
“It took about three hours to film that episode. Normally it’s two or an hour and a half. It took three whole hours. That was hard going.”
Former teacher Morgan made his name on RTE’s The Live Mike and Scratch Saturday before becoming a household name as a result of his Father Ted role.
In light of McDonnell's comments, Dermot's son Rob hit back on Twitter where he said: "I normally ignore these quotes, but I've had enough.
"If my dad was dealing with health issues, they were a matter for him alone. Why Patrick feels a need to speculate on them 25 years later is beyond me. Adds nothing to the anecdote about his episode and doesn't bring Dermot back."
Comedian PJ Gallagher was one of the first to respond to his tweet as he stuck up for his Naked Camera co-star Pat McDonnell.
He posted: "I’m sure Patrick meant no harm. From reading the story it seems likely he was responding to a question put to him on a stage which isn’t always easy. He’s only ever said great things about your Dad that I’m aware of and in my company. Your Dad was a special talent for sure."
Rob thanked PJ for his reply while others sympathised with him for the loss of his dad 25 years ago.
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