Ben Elton really thinks critics of Mrs Brown’s Boys ‘don’t understand comedy’-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Ben Elton has defended Mrs Brown’s Boys (Picture: BBC Studios/ Kirsty Anderson)

Ben Elton has thrown his support behind Mrs Brown’s Boys and slammed the ‘insane’ criticism it receives.

The comedy legend, 65, is best known for working as a writer on beloved series’ The Young Ones and Blackadder.

However he’s now come to the defence of the divisive sitcom by Brendan O’Carroll, which has regularly come under fire.

‘It’s insane this show is so abused. It’s so inoffensive,’ he said.

‘You can say it’s unfunny or old-fashioned, but you cannot say it’s stupid and lacks skill. These are brilliant comedians with perfect timing.

‘They’re doing a type of comedy you may not find appealing because maybe you’re embarrassed about the fact you have no understanding of why it’s funny, so you can’t give yourself over to it,’ he added when speaking to The Sun.

He said criticism of the BBC sitcom was ‘insane’ (Picture: BBC Picture Archives)

Ben admitted he thought it was ‘hilarious’ at times (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock)

The comedian added that after watching a few episodes, he thought it was ‘hilarious’ and while he did think it could ‘sometimes tread water’, people ‘cannot dismiss comedy that you don’t like by saying it’s stupid’.

He went on to say that ‘a good silly joke is actually a difficult thing to write’ and while a bad one is not, that is not what he saw on the series.

‘It’s not my favourite show but I enjoy it, and I see the incredible skill and also it’s all about goodwill,’ he added.

First airing in 2011, Mrs Brown’s Boys follows loud-mouthed Irish matriarch Agnes Brown, whose favourite pastime is meddling in the lives of her six children.

Although it regularly attracts millions of viewers, many have said it contains ‘painful’ jokes.

The show’s Brendan O’Carroll previously said he ‘didn’t care’ about the backlash (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

Earlier this year the BBC’s comedy director also refused to be drawn on whether the show was ‘actually funny’.

Brendan, 69, has previously said he didn’t take the criticism too seriously and said he ‘didn’t care’ what those people thought.

But, earlier this year, filming on the upcoming Christmas special was paused after he ‘made a clumsy attempt at a joke’ and ‘implied’ a racial slur.

The creator and comedian later apologised for ‘causing offence’.

The Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special Ding Dong Mammy will air on Christmas Day at 11.05pm on BBC One.

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