Fans of Mrs Brown's Boys have been left "physically sick" after an actor kissed his real-life son in the BBC sitcom.
The annual Mrs. Brown's Boys Christmas special has once again found itself at the center of a fan frenzy, though this time the reactions are decidedly mixed.
In this year's festive episode, viewers witnessed Cathy Brown, portrayed by Jennifer Gibney, taking on the monumental task of cooking the Christmas dinner for the first time, aiming for a peaceful day with her family.
The twist came when Buster Brady, played by Danny O'Carroll, made an appearance and attempted to ignite a romance with Cathy, drawing inspiration from the iconic movie Love Actually. However, after Cathy's rejection, Buster found himself back in the kitchen with Mrs. Brown herself, portrayed by his real-life father.
The climax of the episode saw Buster reaching for mistletoe, hoping for a kiss from Cathy. He quipped, "Cathy, a woman cannot refuse a kiss under mistletoe. Now pucker up and lay it on me." But when Cathy evaded Buster's advances, an unexpected and intimate kiss occurred between Buster and Mrs. Brown.
Check out the moment at the 8:35 mark:Fans of the show promptly took to social media to voice their opinions on this unexpected turn of events.
One enthusiastic supporter on Twitter wrote, "I don't care, I bloody love Mrs. Brown's Boys." Another chimed in with, "I don't understand, if you don't like Mrs. Brown's Boys, don't watch it." And a third fan posted, "I know Mrs. Brown's Boys is marmite. In this instance, I love marmite."
However, not all feedback was positive, with one viewer expressing disappointment, saying, "OK, recycled jokes that weren't funny in the first place. Maybe time for a break and a reassessment of the cast and material. Bored now. I'm gutted as this used to be hilarious! I think I could actually help them!" Another viewer humorously commented, "I feel physically sick. But maybe that's because I'm stuffed with turkey and Ferrero Rocher."
Brendan O'Carroll, the creator of Mrs. Brown's Boys, didn't hesitate to respond to critics, telling them they can "feck off." O'Carroll, 68, recognizes that comedy is highly subjective, stating to BBC Radio Sounds, "What some people like, other people just detest. So I don't take it too seriously." He also highlighted how the show has been a hit with families and has even made a positive impact on autistic children.
O'Carroll shared a heartwarming anecdote: "When we started... by about the fourth or fifth episode, we got a couple of letters from people who had autistic children. It started as a couple of letters and it’s now been over 3,000.
"And they said that their kids watched Mrs. Brown and they heard them laugh in context for the very first time. One woman said she was in the kitchen and heard her son laughing for the very first time. So when you get a letter like that I don’t care what the critics say. That'll do me."
He went on to express his astonishment at the show's reception, stating, "People say to me you must be living your dreams. I'm so far past my dreams, that it's not true. I started doing a five-minute thing on radio. There's now been 240 episodes of it on the radio. It's been just unbelievable. My mother had a great saying, my mother used to say that success is like disco music, just dance to it."
While Mrs. Brown's Boys continues to divide opinions, its enduring popularity among viewers and its positive impact on some fans remain undeniable.
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