TV viewers have been left ‘physically’ sick after an actor kissed his real-life son in a show.
Mrs. Brown’s Boys is a popular British sitcom that has aired on the BBC since 2011.
Based on the character that Brendan O’Carroll, 68, created for radio in the early 1990s, the show sees the comic play the foul-mouthed titular Mrs Brown.
The show also stars his real-life family members and close friends – including his wife Jennifer Gibney and his children.
However, one scene with his son has led to some backlash on social media.
In the most recent Christmas special, Cathy Brown, played by Gibney, is responsible for cooking Christmas dinner for the first time.
While that seems like a simple premise, the big twist comes when Buster Brady, played by O’Carroll’s son Danny, looks to strike up a romance with Cathy – who turns him down.
After being rejected, Buster finds himself in the kitchen with Mrs Brown, who, of course, is portrayed by his real-life father.
Towards the end of the episode, viewers see Buster reaching for mistletoe, hoping for a kiss from Cathy as he says: “Cathy, a woman cannot refuse a kiss under [the] mistletoe. Now pucker up and lay it on me.”
But instead of receiving a kiss from Cathy, he receives an unexpected and rather intimate kiss from Mrs Brown.
Some viewers took to social media after the episode of Mrs. Brown’s Boys aired to share their displeasure with the kiss.
One expresses: “I feel physically sick. But maybe that’s because I’m stuffed with turkey and Ferrero Rocher.”
A second writes: “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!”
However, many fans leapt to its defence.
“It was a bit of silly fun and a laugh,” says the first.
A second adds: “Lighten up. The comedy part comes from the fact he puts his family members in really uncomfortable situations, that’s the point.”
“Brilliant had a good laugh and as for the kiss acting harmless fun,” someone else writes.
Another viewer comments: “It wasn’t a snog, seriously people need to get a life and stop moaning about everything. Ffs have a laugh, it was funny.”
While the show has received criticism in the past, O’Carroll has claimed to have never been bothered by it as he understands that his style of comedy isn’t for everyone.
In an interview with the BBC (via Radio Times), he explained: “What some people like, other people just detest. So I don’t take it too seriously.”
He also shared that the show is popular with families and children who have autism – which means more to him than any critical reception.
O’Connell continued: “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.”
