Irish actor and comedian Ardal O’Hanlon has hit out at celebrity shows and said he would only ever appear on Strictly Come Dancing if his career had hit a dead end.
The Father Ted star revealed that he had been approached to appear on the popular BBC dancing show alongside Irish crooner Daniel O’Donnell.
However, he turned it down, believing it would be a ‘recipe for disaster’.
O’Hanlon told the Irish Sun: “I always had two rules: I wouldn’t do panel games and I wouldn’t do celebrity shows. I was asked to do Strictly Come Dancing again this year but turned it down.
“Saying yes to Strictly Come Dancing is like saying to your wife, ‘I’m leaving you’. It’s a recipe for disaster.
“Yes, it is a great show and so enjoyable in many ways but what is it saying about you? It’s saying there is something missing in your life.
“Maybe it’s that your career is on the skids or you’re having a mid-life crisis or whatever.”
O’Hanlon is worried that the reputation he has built up as a comedian and star of popular comedies such as Father Ted and My Hero would be put at risk if he appeared as a ‘celebrity’ on a light entertainment show.
He continued: “There is a huge distinction between being a comedian, an actor or a writer and being a celebrity. I believe you are better off just doing your job.”
O’Hanlon also said that his status as a TV star has led to some unwanted and rather frightening attention from some quarters.
He said: “I get a lot of stuff from prison. They like My Hero. What that says about the show I don’t know.
“I’ve had a few death threats as well. I got an unusual one from a remote part of Ireland. I was able to trace him just by the postmark.
“I knew someone who went there on holiday and he was like, ‘Yeah I know who that is. He’s the only one who has a typewriter’.”
O’Hanlon’s latest show, After Hours, will be shown on Sky One starting next month.