Brendan O’Carroll has donated €10,000 to Parkinson’s UK.
The ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ actor joined an all-star performance including Jason Manford, Katie Melua, Collabro and ‘The Who’s Pete Townshend for Parkinson’s UK Symfunny No. 2 on Wednesday night (19.04.2017) at the Royal Albert Hall.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, 61-year-old Brendan said: "I struggled with moving from stage to TV. Writing for theatre was easy because you know what the audience wants because you have more of a relationship with them but I found it very difficult to write for TV.
"I kept sending the script and having it sent back with some feedback. I would try and try again and I sort of got there.
"They got me in touch with Paul Mayhew-Archer who lives in LA and he came over and worked on the first two series.
"He then got diagnosed with Parkinson’s (which is why I am here tonight) and I still call him for advice."
Brendan donned the outfit of the titular character Agnes Brown and joined comedian and host Jason and organiser and Parkinson’s sufferer James Morgan on stage.
Mrs Brown shocked the audience and James by announcing that she had donated €10,000 to Parkinson’s UK but said the cheque "might bounce".
For Symfunny No. 2, James and his wife Juliette Pochin, also known as Morgan Pochin, were helped in curating the event by actress, author and Parkinson’s UK president Jane Asher, as well as Paul, best known for his work with ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ and the ‘Vicar of Dibley’.
Paul was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011 and recently wrote and presented ‘Parkinson’s: The Funny Side’ for the BBC for which he won the Grierson Trust’s ‘Best Documentary Presenter’ award.
The event attracted a large number of supporters including the new judge on ‘The Great British Bake Off’ Prue Leith who said she was "delighted" to be part of the Channel 4 show.