Praise Jesus! 'Father Ted' is being turned into a musical

Father Ted, which ran on Channel 4 between 1995 and 1998, lives on in our collective British memory as a classic of the sitcom genre. With excellent comedic acting from Dermot Morgan (who played the title role) and Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Dougal McGuire) and equally superb writing from Declan Lowney and Graham Linehan, the show was a big hit and won several BAFTAs.

And in news that’s sure to brighten your otherwise miserable Monday morning, Linehan has confirmed that the show is to be turned into a musical, called Pope Ted: The Father Ted Musical.

But better yet, the show is almost fully written – and we should be able to see it in February 2019.

The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon, who wrote the show’s theme tune and original music, is also involved.

On Twitter, Linehan – who created The IT Crowd and Black Books – said: “It’s the real final episode of Father Ted.”

The musical will see Ted move from the fictional Craggy Island to his new role as Pope in the Vatican.

Linehan told the BBC the musical was about “the least qualified man in the world becoming Pope”.

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He added: “I didn’t want to do anything like this until the right idea came along, and when Trump won and Corbyn won [the Labour leadership] I kind of thought, ‘Maybe Ted has a chance’.

“I thought it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Obviously we’re pulling some shenanigans to get him into that position but I think the shenanigans are entertaining enough that people won’t mind.”

An important question is who’s going to play the big man himself. Tragically, Dermot Morgan died in February 1998 of a heart attack, just a day after filming the final episode.

Whoever replaces him will have a big old task to match up to Morgan’s charm, charisma and pure funniness. 

And for your viewing pleasure, here are some of the all-time greatest Father Ted moments: 

(Image: Channel 4 / Father Ted / Hat Trick)