Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll will be showing a more serious side to himself in an upcoming BBC documentary about the 1916 Rising. Entitled 'Brendan O'Carroll: My Family at War' it will see the comedian looking at the events of the Rising through the lives of his three uncles, who were among the volunteers.

In what he describes as a "deeply personal film", O'Carroll has said it's "an extraordinary story - a story of subterfuge, violence, of cock-ups, catastrophes but also one of idealism and sacrifice".

"I knew about the Rising and learnt about the Rising but never knew anything about my family's part in it," he told the BBC. "So, on the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, I'm going to retrace my uncles' steps and in doing so tell you the story of 1916."

The documentary is part of a number of 1916 commemorative programmes that will be shown on the British broadcaster, including the Liam Neeson-narrated three-part documentary series '1916', recently broadcast on RTE1.

'Brendan O'Carroll: My Family at War' has also been acquired by RTE and will be shown on RTÉ1 on Sunday March 13 at 9:30pm, while it airs on BBC Two on Wednesday March 16 at 9:00pm.