The Fact Wire

Three stars of hit BBC sitcom Mrs Brown's Boys diverted more than £2m into an offshore tax-avoidance scheme, Paradise Papers documents show. Patrick Houlihan and Martin and Fiona Delany transferred their fees into companies in Mauritius and sent money back as loans. Similar tax avoidance schemes have been subject to investigation and challenges by HMRC in recent years. The actors have not responded to the BBC's requests for comment. Houlihan told the Irish Times  he had joined the scheme after receiving professional advice without fully understanding it. Roy Lyness, who put the stars in touch with the advisers behind the set-up, was the accountant behind the similar  tax avoidance scheme used by comedian Jimmy Carr. Paradise Papers - exposing the tax secrets of the ultra-rich Media caption Richard Bilton asks Mrs Brown’s Boys star Fiona Delany about the offshore scheme. The revelation in 2012 that Carr had used a Jersey-based tax shelter at...

He quit the popular BBC and RTE series in July - but is happy to have left it behind FORMER Mrs Brown’s Boys star Rory Cowan will only watch the show’s Christmas special if nothing better is on. The star, 58, quit the popular BBC and RTE series in July but insists he has no regrets walking away. He doesn’t have concrete plans to watch Xmas special But asked if he’ll be tuning in for the annual Xmas special, he said: “Maybe I’ll watch it. “But it depends on what else is on. It’ll definitely depend on what else is on.” Dubliner Rory told the Irish Mirror hasn’t been in contract with former boss Brendan O’Carroll since quitting the show after more than 20 years. And he said he didn’t want to have “any regrets” about not being there for mum Esther, who has dementia. Rory quit show to look after his mum He was been working with Brendan for two decades word-break: break-word;"> He said: “I didn’t want to go back t...

Creating a fruit-lover’s utopia in your garden or allotment is easier than you’d think. Head gardener Lucy Chamberlain explains how Many people’s response to the thought of growing fruit in their garden is “I haven’t got room”, “the birds will eat it before I do”, “I’d rather grow flowers because they’re prettier”, or “it’s a bit too tricky”. Well, they’re wrong. And they’re missing out. Here’s why. It’s perfectly possible for a beginner to successfully grow a good crop of apples, pears, plums, cherries, figs, apricots, peaches, nectarines, raspberries, grapes, kiwi berries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, and strawberries in a small space. Just read that list again – it’s pretty impressive. Short of bananas, citrus and avocado, I reckon most people would be happy with that as a substitute for their usual supermarket fruit aisle. We garden writers bang on about helping bees – collectively these crops produce thousands of flowers just begging to be ...

BRENDAN O’Carroll has revealed the actor who will step into the role of Rory Brown on  Mrs Brown’s Boys  following Rory Cowan’s departure. Cowan, who had been part of the  Mrs Brown’s Boys  family for 26 years,  quit the show earlier this week after admitting he had become “unhappy” in the role. The 58-year-old said life on the road was getting “a bit dull and repetitive” but he added: “I can’t fault Brendan, and there was no falling out — and it definitely wasn’t about money.” O’Carroll released a statement on Thursday night revealing that Pat ‘Pepsi’ Shields will take on the unenviable task of replacing Cowan as Rory for the remaining theatre shows in November and December. ‘Pepsi’, is best known for playing Mark Brown on the show but Shields will be forced to switch places in order to play the role of his brother on the show. luckily, Shields has played Rory Brown in the past so it would appear he was the obv...

It is the news that will have TV critics across the land tearing their hair out: BBC One comedy Mrs Brown's Boys is here to stay. "I have been commissioned to write another two Christmas specials and the BBC are expecting Christmas specials up until 2020," Brendan O'Carroll, who writes and stars in Mrs Brown's Boys, said in an interview with  The Mirror  this week. "I am lucky enough [that] I can grow into the part and so that is nice." The 59-year-old Dubliner also dismissed recent rumours that Mrs Brown's Boys, which is often derided by critics but was the most watched show on Christmas Day with 9.69 million viewers and 34.2 per cent of the audience share, was coming to an end. "There is absolutely no truth in the story [that] I am not writing any more Mrs Brown’s Boys. I am. "I would be very disappointed if that [not writing more Mrs Brown's Boys] were the case, because that ...

Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll is auctioning off his private VIP box in the Aviva stadium, for this weekend's hotly contested Cork vs Dundalk FAI cup final. The highest bidder and 23 friends will have a birds-eye view of the pitch and all money raised will go to The Grace Nolan Foundation. The Today Show reporter Padraig O' Driscoll met Robert Garrigan from the FAI who explained what is up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize email your bid to valerie@bocproductions.ie by 6pm on Friday.