Mrs Brown's Boys' creator Brendan O'Carroll has slammed critics who call him 'transphobic'.
The comedian plays the titular character of Mrs Brown on the BBC show, and whilst the programme has been off TV screens for nearly 10 years, the show is set to make a comeback with a mini-series next year and two Christmas specials.
It was due to happen in 2022, but production was put on hold due to scheduling difficulties and Covid delays. The show has received criticism from some viewers, who claim the programme is transphobic and accused Brendan of "cultural appropriation".
However, Brendan has hit back at the comments, insisting he ignores them and just focuses on the show.
Some critics have called for the show to be cancelled as well as others claiming the show is transphobic because Brendan, a man, stars as the lead female character. Some have also accused the show of cultural appropriation.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: "I don’t think about them, I write the show I write. I don’t ever think of myself as being a man playing a woman, when Mrs. Brown goes out on that stage she is a woman. Where do you draw the line?
"Is it okay for Leonardo DiCaprio to play a carpenter or do we get a carpenter? Shouldn’t we get the best person for the job?"
His comments come after Fiona O'Carroll confirmed the show will return for a new series, with filming set to take place in October.
Fiona, who is Brendan's daughter and plays Maria, Agnes' daughter in law in the show, told RTE Guide: "In October we'll be filming Mrs Brown: two Christmas specials and the first of a mini-series of four episodes, the other three early next year.
"We've the live show in November at the SSE Arena in Belfast and 3Arena in Dublin. And we're planning more theatre dates for next year."
The mini-series had been pushed back originally, with Fiona explaining at the time that there were lots of factors causing the delay.
"Well, you know what this industry is like. There is lots of talk and lots of talk and until it is happening you will never really know. Yes, there is talk. We were supposed to be doing a mini series this year but, unfortunately, due to various different reasons it didn't happen. So, there is talk of it happening next year, a possible mini series," she said of the upcoming series.
"It is not just down to us, it is down to studio time, it is down to crew and it is down to cast."
