Two of the most popular stars of Mrs Brown's Boys have apparently left the show ahead of this year's festive episodes.
Damien McKiernan and Gary Hollywood, who play married couple Rory and Dino, will not appear in the show going forward after allegedly becoming upset with the pay disparity among the comedy's cast members.
Hollywood - with the show since the start - is said to have been told that he would have a reduced role in the Christmas specials following his complaint, prompting him to quit.
According to the Daily Star, producers then took the decision to axe McKiernan, who has played the titular character's son since 2017 when original actor Rory Cowan quit.
"Gary and Damien were confused and hurt when they realised they were getting paid less than the others. When they raised the issue it did not go down very well," a show source alleged to the newspaper.
"Gary was later told he would only be appearing in one of this year's Christmas specials. That was the last straw, so he told them he was quitting. Co-stars including Jennifer Gibney tried to convince him to stay, but his mind is made up.
"It was even worse news for Damien. He was simply told he is being written out. They are both heartbroken that things have turned out this way."
The two festive episodes are expected to be recorded in Glasgow in the coming weeks.
Neil Wilkes
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