Revelation in Brendan O'Carroll's biography

Mrs Brown’s Boys creator Brendan O’Carroll has revealed that he was once arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police thought the comic may have killed a former business partner who robbed him, after he was found hanged in his mother’s home.

O’Carroll admits that at one time he did feel like killing Kevin Moore over the way he had stolen from the Dublin pub they ran together – and once tried to have an angry showdown.

But it was soon determined that Moore, who had contracted Aids, had killed himself.

‘The enquiries didn’t last long,’ O’Carroll says. ‘It was soon established that Kevin had killed himself.’

The story is revealed in a new authorised biography of O’Carroll, The Real Mrs Brown.

O’Carroll had returned from a holiday in 1989 to find Moore had cleared out the pub they owned together, selling all the fixtures and fittings and running off to Australia with the cash in their bank account.

Despite the pub having an annual turnover of £500,000, Moore’s betrayal left O’Carroll £96,000 in debt and he had to declare himself bankrupt.

Three months later O’Carroll learned that his former friend was at his mother’s house, and he waited outside for a furious confrontation.

Moore never showed up and eventually O’Carroll went home. ‘Later on I thanked God I couldn’t find him,’ he admits.

It later emerged that Moore, who was gay and had a history of drug abuse, had fled down under when he learned he had Aids for a ‘last hurrah’ before returning home to take his own life.

‘I often reflect on it,’ says O’Carroll. ‘One thing I think about is that I have no idea what it’s like to be dying of Aids, to be totally afraid. And even to be gay. Being gay can be a very lonely life.’

And he added he bore no ill-will towards Moore, saying: ‘If you carry grudges, they weigh you down. And anyway, it’s one of those ironic twists. If he hadn’t fecked off to Australia with the money, I might still be running a pub.’

Instead he turned to stand-up, and is now worth an estimated £8million.

• The Real Mrs. Brown: The Authorised Biography of Brendan O'Carroll by Brian Beacon is out now, priced £20. Click here to buy for £10.99 from Amazon..

Published: 15 Sep 2013