Ardal O'Hanlon

Acting

Ardal O'Hanlon

Born

1965-10-08 (61)

Place of birth

Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland

Known for

Acting

Credits

71 titles

Ardal O'Hanlon was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland. He is an actor and writer, known for Father Ted (1995), My Hero (2000) and Val Falvey TD (2009). He is married to Melanie. They have three children.

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 9 titles

My Freaky Family poster
7.0

On the cusp of her 13th birthday, Betty Flood – budding musician and magical being – just wants to be like the rest of her fabulous, but very different family, so why is her magical Mum so against it? As Betty wrestles with this, she also learns the amazing truth about her family and discovers that the not so normal, the magical and the musical are all a part of her fabulously freaky family. It's very freaky, so be freaked freaky ahh deaky peaky neaky seaky peaky poo.

My Freaky Family

2024

Fran the Man poster
5.8

When non-league St Peter's Celtic are drawn to play titans Shamrock Rovers in the first round of the FAI Cup, assistant manager Fran Costello hopes his team will pull off one of the greatest shocks in football history. But it isn't long before the shit really hits the Fran…

Fran the Man

2025

Blackadder: A Cunning Story poster
7.7

A look back at the making of the entire Blackadder series to commemorate its 40th anniversary, featuring contributions from Blackadder's biggest fans including Jack Whitehall, Darren Harriott, Sarah Hadland, Ardal O'Hanlon and Nina Wadia.

Blackadder: A Cunning Story

2023

The Ghastly Ghoul poster
8.0

Every year, the monsters from Halloween Town come to Earth to trick or treat for one glorious night of mischief before the gateway back to their world closes again. The Ghastly Ghoul is the story of Gary, a cute little monster who doesn’t believe he’s scary enough and so disguises himself as the Ghastly Ghoul. When he misses the gateway back home, he is trapped in the human world. He forms a friendship with a young girl, Beatrix, who is struggling with her own fears around the macabre holiday and together they help inspire a sense of self-belief in one another and try to find a way to get Gary home again on a Halloween night filled with magic and adventure.

The Ghastly Ghoul

2023

You'll Never Believe Who's Dead poster
NR

As the Cosgrove family gather for a traditional Irish Christmas, and their financial problems come to the fore, a solution presents itself in the form of a robbery of local reclusive farmer Charlie Bann. But the Cosgrove’s have bitten off more than they can chew, as Charlie Bann is not who he seems to be…

You'll Never Believe Who's Dead

2026

The Geneva Window: Through a Glass Darkly poster
NR

The mystery of the Geneva Window: a masterpiece of Irish art commissioned by the Irish Government but ultimately rejected, abandoned and hidden away for fear of scandalising the nation.

The Geneva Window: Through a Glass Darkly

2024

No artwork available
NR

Actor and comedian Ardal O’Hanlon examines the role of Catholic priests in Irish life, from earliest times to the present day, to see how they shaped Irish lives for better or for worse.

The Last Priests in Ireland

2024

Ardal O'Hanlon: Tomb Raider poster
7.5

Ardal O’Hanlon explores a 1930s quest to find the first Irish men and women using archaeology, answering his deepest questions about what it means to be Irish.

Ardal O'Hanlon: Tomb Raider

2022

No artwork available
NR

Actor Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Ted) explores some of the most important archaeological finds in Ireland's history, revealing how many have been used as an important tool for nation-building on both sides of the border. Speaking to world-renowned experts, he unravels a forgotten time period, when a team of Americans from Harvard University, a Nazi archaeologist from Austria, and a Welsh geography professor dug up ancient sites across the country. Their pioneering work answered questions about the Celts, and what it means to be Irish.

Nazis, Treasures, and the Quest For Celts

2022

2010s · 7 titles

Handsome Devil poster
7.0

A music-mad 16-year-old outcast at a rugby-mad boarding school forms an unlikely friendship with his dashing new roommate.

Handsome Devil

2017

British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves poster
5.7

Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.

British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves

2016

Border Country: When Ireland Was Divided poster
NR

The border between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland has meandered across rural Irish farmlands since its creation in 1922. Throughout this time film crews and journalists have descended upon the border, attempting to understand its absurdities and contradictions – and the turmoil it can cause. At yet another crucial moment in its history, Border Country: When Ireland Was Divided brings almost 100 years of archival footage together with the stories of people whose lives have been affected by the border.

Border Country: When Ireland Was Divided

2019

Small, Far Away: The World of Father Ted poster
8.0

On the 15th anniversary of its launch, this documentary follows Father Ted creators Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews on a return trip to Craggy Island to take in its location and discuss how the series was made with cast and crew.

Small, Far Away: The World of Father Ted

2011

Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party poster
NR

Ardal O'Hanlon looks at what started the showband era in Ireland, the people involved, and how it came to an end in the 1980s.

Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party

2019

Dermot Morgan: Fearless Funnyman poster
NR

A selection of Dermot Morgan's family, friends, colleagues and admirers, including Pat Shortt, Oliver Callan and Pauline Mc Lynn, look back on the life of the comedian, writer, satirist and actor whose savage wit belied a caring nature and reflect on his place in the annals of comedy greats.

Dermot Morgan: Fearless Funnyman

2013

Twice Shy poster
2.0

Andy and Maggie, a young Irish couple, travel to England as the result of an unplanned pregnancy, where Maggie will face the biggest decision of her life.

Twice Shy

2016

2000s · 11 titles

Tales of the Riverbank poster
4.6

Tales of the Riverbank tells the story of three friends - Hammy Hamster, Roderick Rat and GP the Guinea Pig - who, having swept down the river in a violent storm, embark on an epic journey in search of their lost homes. Their journey, full of comic incident and dramatic danger, becomes even more precarious when they discover that the whole riverbank is threatened by a waffle, Marmalade and Doughnut (WMD) factory which, owned by the evil Fat Cats, is polluting the countryside with increasingly dangerous emissions...the Big Dirt!

Tales of the Riverbank

2008

Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind poster
5.1

Robbie and Donner's wedding is interrupted when Donner is kidnapped by aliens. Robbie saves the day again though with the help of his friends and an alien crystal.

Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind

2007

Jack Charlton: The Irish Years poster
8.0

It's rare when one man can inspire a nation and unite them in pride. It's even rarer when an Englishman can do this for Ireland. But when Jack Charlton took the reins of the national Irish football team, he did just that.Presented by Colm Meaney, this entertaining and insightful documentary revisits Irish football's historic era on the international stage through humorous and honest interviews with figures like John Giles, Paul McGrath, Ardal O'Hanlon, and Jack Charlton himself.

Jack Charlton: The Irish Years

2005

The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby poster
5.7

This is the true story of a little dog that refused to leave his master's graveside in Edinburgh. The dog visited the grave for years.

The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby

2005

Graham Linehan: Funny Business poster
NR

A behind-the-scenes portrait of comedy writer Graham Linehan as he develops *The IT Crowd*, revealing the meticulous process behind his seemingly effortless humour. From scattered ideas and cork-board story cards to rewrites, rehearsals and production, the documentary offers an intimate look at how one of British and Irish television’s most distinctive sitcom writers turns fragments of inspiration into finished comedy.

Graham Linehan: Funny Business

2008

No artwork available
6.5

Movie with some of the greatest brittish comedians such as Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese.

The Funny Blokes of British Comedy

2005

Stop! You're Killing Me poster
5.0

Amnesty International (Ireland) presents "Stop! You're Killing Me" which features the very best of Irish comedy performed in support of Human Rights. Recorded live at Dublin's Vicar Street Comedy Club in November 2004, the stellar line up of Irish comedians includes acts from Tommy Tiernan (Supertramp), Dylan Moran (Black Books), Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Ted), Dara O'Briain (The Live Floor Show) and performances from other well known Irish comedians such as Eddie Bannon, Des Bishop, Jason Byrne and Mark Geary. Available for the first time on DVD, this is a quick fire show from a new generation of Irish comics and is your chance to laugh and support a great cause at the same time!

Stop! You're Killing Me

2004

No artwork available
6.5

Shot live at the one off Comic Aid benefit gig at London’s Carling Apollo – which sold out in just three and a half minutes of tickets being put on sale – the DVD features the entire uncut show for all those unfortunate enough to have missed out on tickets. The 3 hour show sees Jonathan Ross, Jack Dee, Graham Norton, Julian Clary, and Lily Savage host a stellar comic line-up that includes; Lee Evans, Dawn French, Jimmy Carr, Ardal O’Hanlon, Johnny Vegas, Bill Bailey, Bo’ Selecta! star The Bear, Jo Brand, Jon Culshaw, Omid Djalili, Otis Lee Crenshaw, Eddie Izzard, The League Of Gentlemen with Miranda Richardson, Alistair McGowan, Dylan Moran, Dave Spikey, Simon Pegg & Jessica Stevenson. Psychological illusionist Derren Brown and international percussion sensation Stomp also present their own unique blend of stage entertainment.

Comic Aid

2005

Robbie the Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe poster
5.5

Follow Robbie as he sets out to discover a mythical tribe of lost Viking warriors to help him save his friends from another dastardly plot by the evil Blitzen and his new-found partner-in-crime The White Rabbit. Robbie is having girl trouble too - Donner is feeling neglected and decides to give Robbie an ultimatum. Can Robbie save the day, keep his girl and unravel the mystery of the Legend of the Lost Tribe?

Robbie the Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe

2002

No artwork available
3.5

Have you ever had a best friend you couldn't stand? Myles has one - Austin - only he's too much of a slacker to do anything about it. In fact, each one of these layabouts is as useless as the other: a pair of thirty-somethings who laze around watching their lives flutter past. Fate, however, has plans to remedy their lack of motivation. Up to their necks in debt, they decide to help a dodgy entrepreneur, Gerard, to create a new landmark in Irish tourism: a Famine Theme Park.

Wide Open Spaces

2009

Ardal O'Hanlon - Live in Dublin poster
6.4

Ardal O'Hanlon returns to his home country with a sell out show at Dublin's Olympia Theatre for this specially recorded show. Featuring brand new material from his 2007 tour, this DVD marks 10 years since Ardal's last stand-up tour. The show won rave reviews and marks a triumphant return to stand up comedy for one of Ireland's best loved comics.

Ardal O'Hanlon - Live in Dublin

2007

1990s · 4 titles

Series credits

Doctor Who poster
7.6

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.

Doctor Who

2005

The Graham Norton Show poster
7.2

Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

The Graham Norton Show

2007

Top of the Pops poster
6.6

The biggest stars, the most iconic performances, the most outrageous outfits – it’s Britain’s number one pop show.

Top of the Pops

1964

Death in Paradise poster
7.4

A brilliant but idiosyncratic British detective and his resourceful local team solve baffling murder mysteries on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie.

Death in Paradise

2011

The One Show poster
4.3

A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.

The One Show

2006

Skins poster
8.1

Irreverent comedy drama which follows the messy lives, loves, delirious highs and inevitable lows of a group of raucous teenage friends in Bristol.

Skins

2007

Taskmaster poster
8.3

Greg Davies is the Taskmaster, and with the help of his ever-loyal assistant Alex Horne, they will set out to test the wiles, wit, wisdom and skills of five hyper-competitive comedians. Who will be crowned the Taskmaster champion?

Taskmaster

2015

Parkinson poster
NR

Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.

Parkinson

1998

House of Games poster
6.1

Each week a group of four famous faces go toe to toe in testing their general knowledge skills in a variety of entertaining games.

House of Games

2017

Celebrity Mastermind poster
6.0

Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long-running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master. Magnus Magnusson was quizmaster on the 2003/04 episodes featuring Jonathan Meades as winner.

Celebrity Mastermind

2003

Derry Girls poster
8.1

Amidst the political conflict of Northern Ireland in the 1990s, five secondary school students square off with the universal challenges of being a teenager.

Derry Girls

2018

Extraordinary poster
7.3

In a world where everyone develops a power on their 18th birthday, Jen didn't. She's turning 25 and is still waiting to get hers. Adrift in a big, confusing world and armed with nothing but a bit of hope and a lot of desperation, Jen begins her journey to find her maybe-superpower. But in doing so, she might discover the joy of being just kind of ok.

Extraordinary

2023

Father Ted poster
8.2

A crazy comedy about three rather strange parish priests exiled to Craggy Island, a remote island off the Irish west coast.

Father Ted

1995

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast poster
7.1

Three lifelong pals embark on a chaotic quest to solve the mystery of their old friend's suspicious death and keep their own dark secret under wraps.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast

2026

Shooting Stars poster
7.7

Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Created and hosted by double-act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it uses the panel show format but with the comedians' often slapstick, surreal and anarchic humour does not rely on rules in order to function, with the pair apparently ignoring existing rules or inventing new ones as and when the mood takes them.

Shooting Stars

1993

Sherlock & Daughter poster
6.8

Sherlock Holmes faces a sinister case risking friends' lives. American Amelia joins, seeking her father after her mother's murder. Despite differences, they solve a conspiracy and her mother's case.

Sherlock & Daughter

2025

Celebrity Catchphrase poster
10.0

In this entertaining series packed with laughs, celebrity contestants attempt to work out catchphrases based on fun animations. Animations include well known phrases, sayings and even film, song and book titles. The celebrities need to buzz in as quickly as they can when they know the answer and can say what they see in a chance to win money for their chosen charities.

Celebrity Catchphrase

2018

Live at the Apollo poster
6.9

A British stand-up comedy programme performed from the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in west London.

Live at the Apollo

2004

Parkinson poster
7.0

The final incarnation of Michael Parkinson's iconic talk show featuring an array of celebrities from every sphere.

Parkinson

2004

The Woman in the Wall poster
6.7

When Lorna Brady, a survivor of one of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries, wakes to find a corpse in her house, she has no idea who the dead woman is or if she's responsible for the apparent murder, because she has long suffered from extreme bouts of sleepwalking.

The Woman in the Wall

2023

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled poster
7.1

One of Britain’s favourite comedians doing what he does best – being funny. But Alan Davies isn’t on a stage, or behind his QI desk sparring with Stephen Fry, or even wearing his Jonathan Creek duffle coat… instead, Alan is at his most relaxed and most natural – sitting around chatting with some of his best comedian friends.

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled

2014

Lily's Driftwood Bay poster
4.0

Follow the imagination of Lily, a five-year-old hunter, as she creates a world of adventure and friendship from treasures she finds washed up on the beach.

Lily's Driftwood Bay

2014

My Hero poster
6.5

My Hero is a BBC sitcom created by Paul Mendelson. The programme ran for six series, first broadcast in February 2000, and concluding in September 2006. The series follows the antics of the dim-witted superhero "Thermoman", portrayed by Ardal O'Hanlon in series one to five and by James Dreyfus in the final series. The series was regularly directed by John Stroud. In the UK, the digital channel Gold regularly re-runs the programme, although the last series has yet to appear on the channel. In the United States it was shown on PBS and, briefly, BBC America. In Australia, UKTV offered re-runs of the first three series, while BBC Entertainment provided repeats for Scandinavia.

My Hero

2000

The Late Late Show poster
5.5

Chat show that looks at current affairs in Ireland.

The Late Late Show

1962

Cucumber poster
7.3

Original drama series from Russell T Davies exploring the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life, beginning with the most disastrous date night in history.

Cucumber

2015

Return to Paradise poster
6.7

DI Mackenzie Clarke is forced to leave London under a cloud of suspicion and return to the last place she ever wanted to be, her hometown of Dolphin Cove, Australia where her tenacity and work ethic helps her solve murder mysteries.

Return to Paradise

2024

Comic Relief poster
6.0

Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people around the world and in the United Kingdom. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, an annual (previously biennial) telethon held in March. The first live fundraising evening, held on 4 April 1986, featured comedians and pop stars, including Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Kate Bush and co-founder Lenny Henry.

Comic Relief

1988

Six Nations Sin Bin poster
NR

Getting everyone ready for a Six Nations weekend. Gabby Logan and Gareth Thomas are joined by stars and famous fans to look ahead with previews, predictions and a packed crowd.

Six Nations Sin Bin

2019

London Irish poster
7.6

Old enough to know better… Young enough to do it anyway. Conor, his older sister Bronagh, best friend Packy and Niamh have just moved from Ireland to London, ready to shake this drunken haze and start life afresh with a clear head. The days of forgotten nights out, regrettable bedfellows and alcohol fueled bad decisions are over. Cheers to the adult life! Which starts now… soon… just as soon as they shake this hangover.

London Irish

2013

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Stand Up Show

—

Nelly & Nora poster
NR

The adventures of two young Irish sisters who spend their holidays and weekends with their parents at the family’s mobile home in a caravan park by the sea.

Nelly & Nora

2015

Big Bad World poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Big Bad World

1999

Blessed poster
7.0

Blessed is a BBC television sitcom written by Ben Elton and starring Ardal O'Hanlon as Gary, a record producer, who is struggling to bring up two small children. The series was broadcast on BBC One on Friday evenings at 9.00pm between October and December 2005. It featured the lullaby Morningtown Ride as its theme, sung by the cast band. No second series was commissioned.

Blessed

2005

After Hours poster
7.1

An 18 year old music lover who's just had his heart broken for the first time turns for support to an internet radio station on a long boat run by two people with extravagant personalities.

After Hours

2015

No artwork available
NR

Popular Irish personalities trace their roots, and this journey through generations of ordinary lives reveals extraordinary stories.

Who Do You Think You Are?

2008

Pitch Invasion: How the Scottish and Irish Changed Football poster
NR

Exploring the seismic influence key players and managers from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland had on English football between the 1960s and the start of the Premier League.

Pitch Invasion: How the Scottish and Irish Changed Football

2024

No artwork available
NR

12-year-old daydreamer Sam Curtain is signed up by his parents to Miss Jessop's Drama Academy for talented kids, where he discovers that anything is possible, if you imagine it hard enough.

Showkids

2025

Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything poster
7.0

Rosie Molloy is addicted to everything. After an embarrassing incident at her brother Joey's wedding Rosie wakes up in hospital and decides to change her life by giving up. Everything.

Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything

2022

No artwork available
NR

Val Falvey, TD is an Irish comedy television programme starring Ardal O'Hanlon and Owen Roe. The show began airing on RTÉ Two in November 2009. The show is about Val Falvey, a TD in the fictional town of Kilmehill.

Val Falvey, TD

2009

No artwork available
NR

Gabby Logan and a host of legends reflect on the very best from 25 years of the world's greatest rugby tournament - from the biggest talking points to the most unforgettable games.

Six Nations Greatest Moments

2025