Mrs Brown's Boys junior producer 'walks out over racial joke'

A member of the 'Mrs Brown's Boys' production team reportedly walked out over Brendan O'Carroll's "racial" joke.

The 69-year-old actor was in character as Agnes Brown on set when he improvised during a read-through of the upcoming Christmas and New Year specials and almost said the N-word before being stopped by his wife Jennifer Gibney, who plays daughter Cathy in the BBC sitcom.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Virtually everyone in the room on the day that the outburst happened were shocked, but the reading continued for some time without anyone saying or doing anything as they were so stunned.

“One member of the production team in particular was upset by what came out of his mouth and it was quickly reported to the bosses.

"There was no excuses for what he said or any kind of context or mitigation he could provide for making the slur, he just seemed to think it was amusing.”

It's said rehearsals were temporarily paused as the BBC launched a probe into the matter, with filming set to resume this week.

It's alleged Brendan, as Agnes, said "I don't call a spade a spade, I call a spade a..." and started to say the N-word before being cut off.

The actor said in a statement this week: "At a read-through of the 'Mrs Brown’s Boys' Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, where a racial term was implied.

"It backfired and caused offence, which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.”

His spokesperson added to the Daily Mail newspaper: "We would also like to clarify that the 'n' word was absolutely not spoken, it was implied.

"Agnes [Mrs Brown] began the word but was stopped from finishing it by her daughter Cathy, as she knew she would be."

The BBC wouldn't "comment on individuals", but reiterated a strong stance against racism.

A spokesperson said: "Whilst we don’t comment on individuals, the BBC is against all forms of racism, and we have robust processes in place should issues ever arise."