Actor and writer Ardal O'Hanlon has joked about how he was left red-faced after meeting Nick Cave at the recent Cheltenham Literature Festival.
The 57-year-old Father Ted star, who was at the event to promote his new book Brouhaha, explained how he was left starstruck when he spotted the Australian singer-songwriter in the bathroom.
"You never know who you're going to run into at these festivals," he explained. "I'm a huge fan of Nick Cave. I was sort of hanging around at a loose end at the end of the evening and he ended up standing right next to me at the urinal.
"Of course, I offered to shake his hand which - at that exact moment - was the wrong move," he laughed. "But it was instinctive because how many times am I going to be in a tiny room with Nick Cave?".
Not all book deals end with a book! @angelascanlon is joined by @ardalsfolly, @thisislyra & @Rylan, tonight 9.40pm!#Angela | @rteplayer | Saturday 9.40pm pic.twitter.com/4JVyQsAtQE
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) October 29, 2022
O'Hanlon admits while his first novel, The Talk of the Town, which was published in 1998 received rave reviews, he struggled to put pen to paper again after its release.
"I was quite busy for a while. I did try a second novel a couple of years after the first one because the first novel did quite well.
"It was grand, it sold well and it reviewed well. So, I was offered a book deal to do a second one, and of course, they wanted it immediately.
"I took the book deal - the naive young man that I was - and I took the cash up front. I built a kitchen with that cash and then I couldn't deliver," he said.
"I stopped and started the novel so many times and I got sidetracked with so many different projects.
"Eventually, I had to suffer the indignation of having to give the money back."
"At least I didn't have to give the kitchen back," he laughed.
Watch the full interview on the RTÉ Player now.
You can catch Angela Scanlon's Ask Me Anything on Saturdays on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9:45pm.
