 Maurice O'Donoghue, who plays Father Dick, was the writers' second choice for the role of Ted, being the right age and having a similar look and lightness.Mathews always preferred Dermot Morgan; Linehan was initially reluctant, fearing he would play Ted the same as his previous character "Father Trendy", but Morgan lobbied hard for the role.Linehan stated that they would have named the character differently if the possible sexual connotations of "Dick Byrne" had occurred to them.