Father Ted shows while at the same time writing for sketch shows such as "The All New Alexei Sayle Show" and "The Fast Show". One of these ideas was for a comedy mockumentary series called "Irish Lives", with six episodes, each focusing on a different character living somewhere in Ireland. They scripted an episode centring on a priest named Father Ted Crilly, who visits his friends in the seminary in Maynooth College. Producer Geoffrey Perkins suggested that the episode's concept be dramatised and rewritten as a sitcom. Mathews was originally intended to play Ted, but decided he lacked the acting ability the
Hell (Father Ted) would describe it as a "holiday in Hell", hence the episode's title. The unusual attractions such as The Magic Road were based on real-life locations Arthur Mathews had visited. During the filming of the scene in Entertaining Father Stone where the priests are playing crazy golf in a rain storm, which caused the actors to get soaking wet, Dermot Morgan joked that next time the writers will probably get them covered in raw sewage. This is the entire reason why the scene where Ted and Dougal are sprayed with sewage was written. The actors did not realise that the substance