With Mrs Brown’s Boys there’s no in between, you either love it or hate it... I love it! Actress, 67, defends sitcom after O’callaghan jibe
You feed off that energy and I feel very humbled and privileged to be in that position EILISH O’CARROLL ON HER ROLE IN MRS BROWN’S BOYS
MRS Brown’s Boys star Eilish O’carroll has said “it’s a pity” former 2fm DJ Gareth O’callaghan thinks the show is “awful”.
The 67-year-old actress, who plays Winnie Mcgoogan in her brother Brendan’s sitcom, pointed out that despite criticism, it remains one of the most watched programmes on Irish TV.
An average of 688,700 tuned into the Christmas special.
Earlier this week, former RTE presenter O’callaghan, who featured the comedy sketches on his 2fm show in the 90s, described the TV version of Mrs Brown’s Boys as being “worse than he could ever have imagined”.
Eilish told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “The early ones, I watch them now and I still sit and laugh, and I know what’s going to come. Mrs Brown isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Comedy is a very selective thing, it’s a personal thing. There’s no in between with Mrs Brown – you either love it or hate it. There’s no, ‘Oh, I could take it or leave it’.
“Given that, we still got over 650,000 views on Christmas Day. It’s holding its position after all these years and I hope it still does.
“It’s my bread and butter. I love every minute of it and it’s great to be in an environment where you make people feel good and laugh.
“You feed off that wonderful energy and I feel very humbled and privileged to be in that position and to be part of this.”
Eilish and her prodancer partner Ryan Mcshane will take to the floor tonight for the second episode of Dancing With The Stars.
Between rehearsals and getting ready for tonight’s live show, Eilish said she’s busy
but loving every minute of it. She added: “I honestly don’t know whether I’m on foot or horseback and that’s being honest with you. We’re rehearsing
every day, then there are interviews and I’m trying to psych myself up not to be nervous, just to get in there and embrace the whole joy of it.
“It’s a wonderful experience, I’m loving every minute of it.”
While the Dubliner is no stranger to performing in live shows, having toured the world with the Mrs Brown’s Boys stage production, she admitted DWTS is like nothing she’s done before. Eilish added: “There’s no comparison. Listen, if I could go out there in my rollers and pop socks [like Winnie], I would fly it. But I can’t so I have to go out there as myself.
“I feel like a newborn baby. Everyone’s looking at you. When they look at a character, it’s totally different because you hide behind the character, you become the character.
“This is sink or swim – but I’m going to swim.” Eilish compared the nerves of dancing for the public to how a bride might feel on her wedding day – but has vowed not to let her fears get the better of her.
“There really isn’t much downtime but I try to catch a few minutes, just to be still for about three or four minutes and just control the breathing.
“I wonder how women feel when they’re getting married, with the big fluffy dresses and all that. It must be like that. There’s that adrenaline rush that you want to
enjoy it, but you’re so nervous that it could sabotage it.”
When asked how she felt about being the centre of attention, Eilish added: “I love it. I came from a family of 10, I was number nine, so I didn’t get much.
“But at the same time, I’m not used to it, so it’s a little bit alien, but I’m going to grab every moment and give it socks.”
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EILISH O’carroll says she’s battling her nerves ahead of her Dancing With The Stars debut.
The Mrs Brown’s Boys star compared her jitters to a bride on her wedding day.
Let’s hope the 67-year-old can impress on her first dance then.