The Oliver Callan team sent self-confessed "lazy" cook Eilish O'Carroll on a cookery course to report back to the show on her trip into the discomfort zone. Oliver caught up with the Mrs Brown's Boys star to hear how she got on in the kitchen, her experience of surviving cancer and the healing power of working throughout her cancer treatment. Listen back above.
Reflecting on the cookery course she undertook for the programme, where she learned to make Korean Sticky Chicken, Eilish says there was one person whose opinion of her efforts mattered most - her partner Marion. She tells Oliver what happened when she took the dish home:
"I mean, she had died and gone to heaven. Because she loves spicy food. And it was spicy. Not over spicy, but it was spicy. And she just thought, that’s it. She said, this is restaurant standard."
Eilish says healthy eating has taken on a new significance in recent times. O’Carroll revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2025 after being hospitalised with flu. A routine chest X-ray that was part of her flu treatment revealed an enlarged lymph node and a tumour. It was a coincidence that may have saved her life:
"I went in with the flu and I had absolutely no idea I had breast cancer."
The shock was compounded by the total absence of warning signs, Eilish says. As doctors later explained the extent of the disease, she realised how close she had come to not knowing at all:
"I was dead lucky that I got the flu. Incredibly lucky. Because I had no symptoms, Oliver. Absolutely none. I think that's why I was in such shock. Sometimes when you have a symptom and you start to worry, because you can feel lump or whatever and you think, oh, I'm going to have to have this checked out. No idea. No idea."
Following a mastectomy, O’Carroll moved straight on to chemotherapy and radiotherapy but refused to put her working life on hold. In May, just weeks into treatment, she travelled to the UK to film a Mrs Brown’s Boys mini-series and two Christmas specials, commuting relentlessly between Glasgow and Dublin:
"I travelled over there every Sunday and flew back every Monday and I would fly back on Friday and go straight in for the chemo. And then two days of being completely wiped and then back on the plane."
It was a gruelling routine, but she says it probably helped her get through the treatment. Encouraged by her oncologist, who believed work could be beneficial, O’Carroll found doing what she loved was a great distraction from the side-effects of her cancer treatment.
Central to that distraction was Winnie; Agnes Brown's neighbour and best friend in the series created by Eilish's brother, Brendan. Having lived with the character for so long, Eilish says her alter ego actually played a part in her recovery:
"Winnie, who’s a character I’ve been doing for over 25 years, is almost like a separate identity to me. And she and I have conversations. She really got me through it."
At her lowest moments, O’Carroll leaned into that imagined dialogue:
"She was an amazing, amazing character, and amazing support for me. And I know it sounds daft, but she really was. I would actually kind of go, what would Winnie do in this situation? What would she say in this situation? So it was things like, you know, you're not pushing up daisies yet, so stop feeling sorry for yourself and get out there!"
Throughout it all, Eilish's partner Marion has been her anchor. From cutting her hair as chemo kicked in, to simply being present when the diagnosis landed, O’Carroll says the support has meant everything to her:
"I wouldn’t have been able to cope without her, to be honest with you. Because your head goes, I don’t know where mine went. I went into numbsville when I got the news."
Now, as she awaits further scans, O’Carroll remains positive, sustained by gratitude, humour, and an alter-ego who refuses to wallow. Her message is simple: early detection saves lives, work can be healing, and sometimes the strength you need comes from unexpected places – even from an imaginary conversation with a woman called Winnie.
Listen back to the full conversation with Eilish O’Carroll on The Oliver Callan Show on RTÉ Radio 1.