THE team behind the successful TV comedy series, Father Ted, will have two reasons to celebrate today. The series has been nominated in the Popular Arts category for an Emmy Award and Pauline McGlynn, who plays Mrs Doyle, the priests' housekeeper in the series, has been nominated for the Best TV Comedy Actress Award category in the British Comedy Awards.
The Father Ted series, which is written by Dubliners, Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, and directed by Declan Lowney, is produced by Hat Trick for Channel 4. The series, which has picked up a number of prestigious awards in the past, has been recognised for its originality and hilarity since it first appeared on English TV screens a couple of years ago.
The winners of this year's international Emmy Awards, which are sometimes referred to as the Oscars of the television screen, will be announced at the International Emmy Awards Gala on November 25th at the New York Hilton.
Only programmes produced outside the United States are eligible for Emmy Awards, which are viewed as the most prestigious international awards for the small screen.
The two other nominations in the Popular Art category are Wallace and Gromit's A Close Shave, produced by Aardman Animations and BBC Bristol and Men Behaving Badly, produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC.
Pauline McGlynn, who heard about her nomination, yesterday was at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin to launch a season of plays for young audiences. On hearing the news she said that she couldn't concentrate on the job in hand because she was "so excited".
In reply to a question about attending the British Comedy Awards, which will be presented in London on November 30th, she said: "I'll go along in the guna, get the hair done, smile, and then cry when I don't win."