"Unhappy" Mrs Brown's Boys star Rory Cowan quits the comedy after 26 years

The actor has starred as Agnes' son Rory in stage and screen versions of Mrs Brown alongside Brendan O'Carroll for 26 years, but will no longer be playing his eponymous character in any form of the comedy.

He told the Irish Daily Mail: “I hadn’t been happy working for the Mrs Brown’s Boys company for the last 18 months to two years."

However, Cowan didn't elaborate on his reasons for being dissatisfied and wanting to leave. He added: "I’m not going into details about why I was unhappy. I did the final show [in London], packed my stuff into a small Waitrose plastic bag and just left the venue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbmLv-Iv0bw

“I feel that 26 years is enough so I decided it was time to go," he continued. "I told Brendan on June 16 about my decision to leave. That’s when I handed in my notice.

“I was supposed to leave at the end of that week, but Brendan said that would be impossible and asked if I’d stay on until the end of the London O2 gigs. So I agreed to that.”

Currently there are no plans for another series of Mrs Brown's Boys to air on the BBC, although Christmas specials of the smash-hit sitcom are said to be planned annually up until 2020.

Cowan has so far remained tight-lipped on Twitter, but said that in the future he would "love to do something like a weekend radio show but we’ll see what comes down the line," but for now wanted "to take a little time off."

Mrs Brown will never be the same again.

How are the cast of Mrs Brown's Boys related?