TV star Oliver Callan has revealed he turned down Britain’s Got Talent – as he doesn’t want to alienate the Irish.
The RTE comedian was asked by bosses on the Simon Cowell show to come and audition for the next series.
But Oliver admitted that while he does want to break the UK, it isn’t the right time yet – and thinks Brendan O’Carroll has done it right.
“Every Irish comedian would be lying if they said they didn’t want to break into overseas markets like the UK,” he said.
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“The only thing is that you have to do it in a way that doesn’t annoy or alienate Irish viewers. I recently got asked by the team on Britain’s Got Talent to audition for them, but I turned it down.
“People like Brendan O’Carroll have it right though — he’s made a sensation of Mrs Brown’s Boys and it’s a co-production with an Irish broadcaster, that’s the way to go.”
And Oliver admitted he would like to act just like the Mrs Brown’s Boys sensation, but not for a decade.
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“I’ve been doing comedy a while, but I don’t plan on wavering outside that genre in the next ten years,” he told the Herald.
“I’d like to act, but you’d have to be bored of comedy before turning to it. Steve Coogan is the perfect example of what I mean.
“It’s only now he’s getting to the serious acting, with his movie Philomena, but he did 20 years or more with Alan Partridge before that.
“Comedy is where my heart lies at the moment, and in a way it is still a form of acting experience and something I’m very proud of.”
