Mrs Brown’s Boys star Rory Cowan has spoken about the frosty reception he received from Brendan O’Carroll and the rest of the cast when he told them he would be leaving.
Cowan had played Mrs Brown’s son Rory since the series was first broadcast on TV, and for years before that as the show was performed in theatres and radio.
However, despite the long-working relationship between Cowan and O’Carroll, few words were exchanged during their final run together.
Cowan told the Irish Mail about the moment he handed his notice in. It was halfway through a stadium tour of the show. He said: “I said to Brendan in Cardiff that I wanted to hand in my notice and asked how much notice does he need.
“He said I can leave at the end of the week if I want.
“After 26 years, he said I could leave at the end of the week! Can you believe that?
“He never asked why I was leaving and I never told him.
“The next morning I got a text that said that my sudden notice caught him by surprise and that it would be impossible for me to leave at the end of the week and asked me to stay until the O2.
“I said okay and did that.”
Cowan’s remaining time on the tour was uncomfortable as many of his colleagues began to shun him.
He said: “There was like a divide. I would go to work and there were some people that would talk to me and many others that wouldn’t say a word.
“I don’t know if they were embarrassed or what but they didn’t speak to me at all.
“I had absolutely zero conversation with Brendan O’Carroll apart from just before we went on stage and that was it.
“He never asked me why I was leaving. He came into my dressing room a few weeks before the O2 shows and asked would I consider staying on until the end of the year and finish in the home town.
“I just said no. I handed my notice to him in June and that show is December. It would be the longest notice in history and I was miserable.
Cowan explained some of his reasons behind his decision to quit the show.
He added: “This wasn’t a shock decision. I haven’t been happy there for a couple of years.
“The show became bigger and new people came in and I could deal with that, but it seemed that the people who were there the longest became irrelevant.
“People were making decisions on my behalf and that didn’t suit me.
“The door is closed now and I have no interest in going back.
“I don’t think they would want me back after the way I left.”
“I don’t care who replaces me or what happens, I am gone and it is not my business.”
Mrs Brown's Boys star shunned by Brendan O'Carroll after handing in notice