Mrs Brown set for chat show

Brendan O’Carroll is set for a chat show as Mrs. Brown.

The actor – who has become hugely popular as the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch – could become the new Mrs. Merton with TV bosses reportedly keen to create a programme based on Caroline Aherne’s popular 90s show.

An insider told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "Agnes Brown is irreverent, outspoken and ­incredibly nosey – perfect qualities for a chat-show host.

"The hope is it would be very much in line with ‘The Mrs. Merton Show’, which was a huge hit.

"Things are at an early stage but senior staff are hopeful this can happen. It’s a fantastic idea and seems like a near-certain hit on paper."

It is said the BBC are very keen to "get the wheels in motion" on the project, due to the huge success of ‘Mrs. Brown’s Boys’ – with some episodes across the three series watched by more than 11 million people.

Meanwhile, ‘Mrs. Merton’ ended its four-year run on the air in 1998 because ­Caroline wanted to focus on other projects.

The series had become ­infamous for the way she used cutting comments to put her celebrity guests in their place.