Mrs Brown’s Boys star Fiona O’Carroll has revealed that being related to the lead star doesn’t ensure job safety on the sitcom.
The actor is the daughter of Brendan O’Carroll, who created the sitcom and plays the main character, Agnes Brown.
Fiona plays Maria Brown in the series, which returns for new episodes each Christmas.
Despite appearing in the sitcom since it started in 2011, Fiona has said that her return to the series has always been dependent on whether she’s working to her full capacity.
In a new interview, she shared the way that her father keeps everyone in line.
“Dad has always made it very clear that we’re replaceable,” she told Sunday Times, adding: “He’s a very shrewd businessman and wants 110 per cent from us and won’t tolerate less.”
She continued: “He knows that people think we’re only there because of him, so he tells us that we need to work even harder.”
In December 2021, Fiona announced she had split from husband and co-star Martin Delany.
She said that she “still has a lot of love” for Delany, who played Mrs Brown’s youngest son, Trevor, in the series,
However, Fiona added that the pair, who have four children together, “wanted different things” having first met when they were 16.
“I only want the best for him and I think he feels the same way about me,” she said.
Meanwhile, Brendan has been married to Jennifer Gibney, who plays Cathy Brown in the show, since 2006.
In 2016, Mrs Brown’s Boys, which was once labelled “the worst sitcom ever made”, was voted the best British sitcom in a Radio Times poll.
The sitcom is reportedly returning for its first full series since 2013.
