The 65-year-old comedian - who has written for legendary series like 'Blackadder' and 'The Young Ones' - defended the long-running BBC One sitcom as "so inoffensive" and claimed that the cast is made up of "brilliant" actors who all have "perfect timing".
Ben Elton
He told The Sun newspaper: "It’s insane this show is so abused. It’s so inoffensive. 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."
'Mrs Brown's Boys' has aired as a sitcom since 2011 and stars Brendan O'Carroll as the titular Irish matriarch.
The initial run of episodes lasted three regular series, while festive specials have aired annually since 2013 and will will continue to be produced until at least 2026.
The show was recently mired in controversy when it was revealed lead star Brendan had left cast and crew stunned with an "implied racial term" during a read-through of the Christmas and New Year specials.
The 69-year-old actor was in character as Agnes Brown on set when he improvised and almost said the N-word before being stopped by his wife Jennifer Gibney, who plays daughter Cathy in the BBC sitcom.
A source said: "Virtually everyone in the room on the day that the outburst happened were shocked, but the reading continued for some time without anyone saying or doing anything as they were so stunned.
“One member of the production team in particular was upset by what came out of his mouth and it was quickly reported to the bosses.
"There was no excuses for what he said or any kind of context or mitigation he could provide for making the slur, he just seemed to think it was amusing.”
He later apologised for having "caused offence".
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