James Bond star Pierce Brosnan could’ve made a brilliant priest as a guest star in Father Ted (Image: Getty / Channel 4)
It’s routinely cited in lists of the best comedy shows of all time and still has a huge fan base 30 years on. Father Ted, set on a remote Irish island, helped launch the careers of several comedians as well as guest-starring many famous faces. But there was one that got away – Pierce Brosnan.
The James Bond star, who appeared in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough, was considered for a part in the Christmas special in 1996, producer Lissa Evans reveals.
Brosnan had already made his Bond debut the year before and had been filming in Ireland when the idea came about.
Lissa, now 64, who produced series two and three of the hit show, explains: “While we were trying to cast for the Christmas special, we said ‘wouldn’t it be great to geta celeb, a glamorous priest to present the Golden Cleric award’.
“It just so happened Pierce was filming in Ireland at the time, so we nearly got him.
“If he had been brought in on a helicopter it would have been so funny.”
In a strange twist of fate, the 007 star ended up working alongside Frank Kelly, who played Father Jack, in the film Evelyn in 2002 and also in Riverdance: The Animated Adventure. Brosnan was a voice alongside actress Pauline McLynn, aka Father Ted’s housekeeper Mrs Doyle.
It is 30 years in April since Father Ted, written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, first aired on Channel Four. It’s still endlessly rewatched, so what’s the secret of its enduring appeal?
“It was so packed with gags and brilliantly, brilliantly written,” says Lissa.
Lissa Evans has written a brilliant new book about making Father Ted (Image: Lissa Evans)
“The scripts came in such a good form – my job was making sure they came down to the right length. The perfect scripts were matched by such a perfect cast too.
“There was the childlike Dougal, played by Ardal O’Hanlon, and the foul-mouthed Jack, who says the things most peopleare not allowed to say. And Ted as the father figure.”
Looking back, Lissa says it became a springboard for many up-and-coming comedians.
A raft of celebrities also appeared on the show – including Clare Grogan, Richard Wilson, Dervla Kirwan, Stephen Tompkinson, Tommy Tiernan and Ed Byrne.
“There are a lot of people who have become famous since,” says Lissa.
One of those was Graham Norton, who played frenetic priest Father Noel Furlong who famously Irish dances in a cramped caravan.
Lissa says he was just as frenzied in his audition, going over the top but wowing them. “It was just before his mega fame.
“He was fantastic – he went completely mad and it was just brilliant. He’s a lovely, lovely, man. I’ve sent him my book and he sent me a lovely note back.”
That book is Picnic On Craggy Island, Lissa’s nostalgic and affectionate behind-the-scenes look at Father Ted, its madcap episodes, prop headaches and guest stars.
Lissa admits the cast and crew were smitten when Altered Images singer and Gregory’s Girl star Clare Grogan appeared, playing a Sinéad O’Connor-esque figure.
“All the blokes instantly fell in love with Clare as soon as she came in,” says Lissa.
“And Sinéad herself actually came into a rehearsal. She was in another studio nearby.We were so starstruck. It was ridiculous.” Another actor who went on to bigger fame in Grey’s Anatomy was Trainspotting’s Kevin McKidd.
He played a Scottish priest in the Christmas episode, where they get trapped in the lingerie section of a department store.
The late Dermot Morgan as Father Ted (Image: Channel 4)
While One Foot In The Grave’s Richard Wilson appeared as himself, Father Ted, played by the late Dermot Morgan, shouts his catchphrase, “I don’t believe it” at him, much to Wilson’s annoyance.
Lissa reveals writers Linehan and Mathews were inspired following a team outing to the Royal Albert Hall in London. “We went to see Cirque du Soleil and had a box and they were sitting in front of Richard Wilson,” she recalls. “I think Graham said ‘What if oneof us suddenly shouted ‘I don’t believe it’. That’s where that came from.”
The idea for Lissa’s book came after she was supposed to be interviewing Ardal at a literary festival and his plane got cancelled.
“I ended up on stage talking about the show. And it suddenly occurred to methat Ted fans would simply just love a book,” she explains.
“I don’t introduce the topic or the history of Ted, I just go straight in for those people who already love it. So that made it really easy. It was such an intense time and I remember it really clearly.”
Lissa had been working on Room 101 when she was put forward for the producer role by Geoffrey Perkins. He had produced the first series and left to be head of comedy at the BBC, where he went on to deliver The Fast Show and My Family, among others. Lissa says: “It was an absolute gift to be asked but also a huge responsibility because Father Ted was already great and everybody loved Geoffrey.
“He made it seem so easy. He was marvellous, so kind to me. The comedy producers in that era had largely come from radio, which I think shaped how they worked.
“In radio you did everything, the casting, script edit… I think people in charge of comedy were a bit more courageous then.
Brosnan with Frank Kelly, who played Father Jack, in 2002 film Evelyn (Image: Pathe)
“Hat Trick, the production company, accepted that people were hands-on/creative people rather than budget people.
“When I look back at Ted, we basically just got on with it. I didn’t have to pass it by anyone – you just made all the decisions, made sure the director and writers saw it and then you sent it off.
“I gather everything in telly has changed – there’s layers of people who are afraid to make decisions. That would have driven me mad if I had to deliver every edit upwards.”
The book is dedicated to Frank Kelly and Dermot Morgan, who died suddenly following a heart attack the day after the last studio filming on February 28, 1998.
“That was such a shock, he was just 45,” says Lissa. “Dermot’s funeral in Ireland was like a state funeral. President Mary McAleese was there. It was extraordinary.”
Frank died on the same day as Dermot, 18 years later in 2016 aged 77. Lissa says he was miles removed from the swearing and dishevelled Father Jack.
“He was so cultured and urbane, a gentleman to his fingertips and had to sit there and shout swear words and ‘knickers’.”
Lissa, who grew up in Surrey and later Staffordshire, reveals writers Linehan and Mathews are supportive of her book and Linehan provided some of the photos.
“I’ve sent the book to everyone involved, to one of Dermot’s sons, to the owners of the parochial house. They were a lovely family. We were always borrowing stuff from them like children and sheep!”
The shoots were in County Clare, Ireland, the location for Craggy Island, where the priests lived and Mrs Doyle worked and made countless cups of tea. She still sees Pauline McLynn – “aside from being a brilliant actress, she knits tea cosies, which you can buy” – and she messages Linehan.
The Craggy Island regulars (Image: Channel 4)
He has found himself at the heart of culture wars with his views on safe spaces for women, puberty blockers and transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
But Lissa does not want to be drawn into that today. “He is going to America and I am very glad he is writing again.”
After Father Ted, Lissa went on to direct Have I Got News For You and The Kumars at No 42 with Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal.
The now real-life married couple played a grandson and elderly grandmother, with famous guests on their talk show each week.
“The Kumars was enormously enjoyable,” says Lissa. “It was great because we never rehearsed with the famous people.
“We had stand-ins all week, so those expressions are completely genuine, from the first take. That was really good fun.”
Amidst all this she began writing books.
“I had had enough. I was sick of sitting in edits. I’m a person who likes to be doing things.”
She has now written seven novels, mainly set during World War Two, and four children’s books. Her novels include Small Bomb At Dimperley and Their Finest Hours And A Half, the latter being made into a film Their Finest in 2016 starring Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy. “It’s a BBC staple now and I was an extra in it,” says Lissa. Children’s books include Wed Wabbit, which is to be adapted into an animated film.
Prior to TV and radio, Lissa, who lives in north London with her Irish husband and twin daughters, trained as a doctor at Newcastle University. “I practised for about four years and absolutely hated it. I was a junior doctor – I did paediatrics, psychiatry and then A&E,” she says.
“When I realised that it wasn’t for me, I moved into comedy. I got a job in light entertainment on radio.”
One of those jobs was Room 101, originally with Nick Hancock. “Then it went to telly. It turned out to be the gift that kept on giving. It had so many series.”
Picnic on Craggy Island, Lissa Evans’s brilliant new book about the iconic sitcom Father Ted (Image: Doubleday)
So what does she watch herself on TV? “I love Derry Girls. I thought its first episode was one of the best pilots I have ever seen. And I loved Graham Linehan’s other sitcoms, Black Books, The IT Crowd and Count Arthur Strong. And Arthur Mathew’s Toast of London.” Next month she’s off to TedFest, a festival celebrating all things Father Ted on the island of Inis Mór, where she will be recounting tales from the book and meeting many adoring fans.
“I know that people are always impressed when I say I worked on Father Ted,” says Lissa. “It’s one of my proudest boasts.”
- Picnic on Craggy Island: The Surreal Joys Of Producing Father Ted, by Lissa Evans (Doubleday, £14.99) is published on Thursday
