Graham Linehan launches social media campaign to get his stalled Father Ted musical on stage

Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has launched a social media campaign to get his stalled Father Ted musical onto the stage.

Linehan said the show, based on the hit sitcom about a trio of eccentric Irish priests, was almost finished, complete with dance routines and songs, written by Neil Hannon who went on to work on the award-winning Wonka film, when he was told the show could not go on with him involved.

The writer, who also wrote TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, has faced a backlash in recent years for being a vocal critic of the trans rights movement.

Linehan has previously claimed he turned down an offer of £200,000 to take his name off the planned stage version of the hit TV show.

In a lengthy message posted on X on Thursday, he alleged that in a meeting with West End producer Sonia Friedman he was told “you’re on the wrong side of history”.

He added: “I never received an apology from her. I would still appreciate one.”

Speaking previously about the show, he said the musical would revolve around a story that saw its title character, formerly exiled to a remote Irish island after a financial scandal, accidently become Pope.

The TV show, which starred the late Irish comedian Dermot Morgan in the title role and Ardal O’Hanlon as his dim-witted sidekick Father Dougal and Frank Kelly as the foul-mouthed drunk Father Jack, was a massive success when it was first shown on Channel 4 in the 1990s.

Linehan encouraged his online followers to tweet with the hashtag #FreeFatherTed, saying he wanted to take back control of the show and bring it to the stage.

Writing on Twitter, he said he was called to a meeting with Jimmy Mulville of Hat-trick Productions who “offered me £200,000” to take his name off the production.

Linehan accused both Mulville and Friedman of “a disgraceful act of preemptive cultural vandalism.”

Last year, he spoke out about what he called “the sudden atmosphere of censoriousness and what you might call a kind of ‘psychotic politeness’ that means that you’re not allowed to make fun of anyone”.

He added: “I think there’s definitely a chilling effect, you know by the lack of good comedies in the last five years. There’s very few strong ones.”

Both Hat-trick and Sonia Friedman Productions have been approached for comment.