Ardal O’Hanlon breaks silence on ‘woke’ Father Ted trigger warnings as actor delivers damning verdict
Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon has branded Channel 4’s decision to add trigger warnings to classic episodes of the beloved sitcom “truly ridiculous”.
The Irish comedian, who played the loveable Father Dougal McGuire in the hit 90s comedy, made the comments during Good Morning Britain.
O’Hanlon found himself in agreement with host Richard Madeley, who called the warnings “preposterous”, leaving the pair engaged in a spirited discussion about the increasing prevalence of trigger warnings on classic television programmes.
Channel 4 added the contentious warning to its streaming service earlier this month on the episode Are You Right There, Father Ted due to scenes that Channel 4 now deems potentially offensive.
In one scene, the late Dermot Morgan’s character Father Ted, unintentionally appears to mock Chinese people whilst wearing a lampshade on his head.
Another moment shows Ted waving from behind a window with an unfortunately placed mark that makes him appear to have a Hitler-style moustache.
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The warning added to the episode reads: “This episode was made in 1998 and contains language and racial impersonation which some viewers may find offensive.”
The plot revolves around Ted trying to prove he isn’t “a bit of a racist” and accidentally getting himself involved in more questionable situations.
Speaking on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, O’Hanlon didn’t hold back when Madeley questioned: “I find this preposterous. What could be more gentle than Father Ted?”
“I know, I’m with you on that. I don’t get it,” the former Death In Paradise star responded.
“You should have trigger warnings going into the supermarket maybe as well, some of the foodstuffs might offend you. Where do we start and where do we end? It is truly ridiculous.”
Host Kate Garraway attempted to change the subject, but a passionate O’Hanlon persisted: “He’s got me going now! You’ve got to give people some credit.”
Madeley added his own thoughts on the matter and said: “If there are references that wouldn’t be made in 2025, well that’s because it was shot 30 years ago, guys.”
O’Hanlon then compared it to news broadcasts: “It’s like you have trigger warnings on the news – as if people are going to sit down and go, oh, the news is on, this should be fun.”
This prompted Madeley to enthusiastically respond: “Can I shake your hand? It drives me mad when I’m watching the news,” before the former Death in Paradise actor quipped: “You’re supposed to be offended, it’s the whole point of the news.”
Madeley agreed: “It’s a report from the frontline of a war zone, I get it, I don’t need to be warned about it.”
Father Ted remains hugely popular decades after its original run, with 2025 marking the show’s 30th anniversary and fans were surprised to see the gentle comedy receive the same treatment as other classic sitcoms.
It’s not the first time classic comedies have faced such scrutiny, with John Cleese previously criticising the editing of Fawlty Towers episodes to remove potentially offensive jokes.
Speaking away from the trigger warnings, O’Hanlon revealed during the GMB interview that he nearly missed his audition for the role that made him famous.
“I ran in, got the tube into Soho, and I was handed a piece of paper and just told to read it. It was just instinct, you kind of have a feeling for it.”