Brendan O'Carroll shares heartbreaking reason he got into comedy

 

Brendan O'Carroll has opened up on the gut-wrenching reason he first got into comedy. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock

Brendan O'Carroll has opened up on the gut-wrenching reason he first got into comedy.

The Mrs Brown's Boys star revealed his love for comedy and being funny first started at just ten years old.

Brendan O'Carroll has opened up on the gut-wrenching reason he first got into comedy.

The Mrs Brown's Boys star revealed his love for comedy and being funny first started at just ten years old.

The actor and comedian lost his father Gerard in 1964.

Speaking on This Morning, Brendan shared how two weeks following his father's death, he recalled his mother sobbing in her bedroom.

He said: 'I was 10 years old. We lived in a council house. The bedroom was upstairs and the toilet was downstairs.

'I came down in the middle of the night for a pee -- got most of it in the bowl, it was great,' he joked.

Brendan shared how he had noticed his mother's bedroom light on, adding it wasn't surprising as she liked to read.

He said: 'But as I got closer I could hear her sobbing. And I sat on the stairs and I was crying myself.

'I thought my job now is to make her laugh every day. And I did. Virtually every day.'

Brendan shared how he kept his promise up until his beloved mum Maureen passed away in 1984, adding: 'She died laughing.'

Brendan details his experiences in his upcoming memoir Call Me Mrs Brown.

Brendan O'Carroll shared of how he kept his promise up until his beloved mum Maureen passed away in 1984, adding: 'She died laughing.' Pic: Graeme Hunter/Bbc/Penalty Kick/That' Nice/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

The book is his first autobiography, and delves into the Irishman's childhood -- growing up in Finglas, Dublin as the youngest of 11 kids,

Another emotional moment discussed in the book was when the TV sensation lost his baby son -- also called Brendan.

Baby Brendan was the first child for the actor and his first wife Doreen, arriving two years after their wedding in 1977.

Tragedy struck the family, as their baby passed away only a week after his birth.

Brendan shared that doctors told him and his wife that their newborn had a condition called hydrocephalus and spina bifida -- resulting in extra fluid around his brain.

Before the birth of his son, Brendan said of how he had pictured a perfect family life at home with the 'baby out back on a swing that I had made.'

He added: 'Suddenly I had found myself in what I thought was a nightmare.'

Doctors told Brendan and Doreen of the likelihood they would never be able to bring their son home from the hospital -- something that prompted Brendan to go to his car to cry.

He said: 'I wished I could do something to change all that was happening. But I couldn't.

'All I could do was be an onlooker and cheerleader, and, for a week; a father.'

It follows Brendan revealing how his alter ego saved his life -- and how he went from being deep in debt to having a BAFTA award-winning hit TV show.

Speaking to The Sun ahead of the release of his autobiography, Brendan said: 'My mother said to me in a dream, "Get up off your knees and do something," I cannot explain why but I awoke after 12 hours of sleep and I felt great.'

Iconic Mrs Brown's Boys has been entertaining Irish audiences for over three decades, finding its feet as a radio comedy, then a stage play and now a hit BBC One and RTE show.

After keeping the gag going for so long, many wonder when Brendan will hang up his fake breasts. He joked: 'I find as I get older the less padding I need.'

Call Me Mrs Brown was released on October 13 and is available in all good bookstores.