Father Ted Crilly stationed in a Wexford parish, where he was investigated under suspicion of stealing a child's Lourdes money to fund his own trip to Las Vegas. Though escaping formal charges, Ted was still punished by Bishop Brennan, who sent him to the inhospitable Craggy Island until all the money was accounted for. Ted was unsuccessful in this regard, as in the first series he mentions having lived on the island for over six years. For the duration of the show, Ted lives in the Craggy Island Parochial House with the childlike Father Dougal McGuire; the senile, aggressive and alcoholic Father Jack
Father Ted Crilly Geoffrey Perkins asked Linehan and Mathews to discard the mockumentary format and expand the Father Ted episode to a traditional sitcom. Linehan found the character of Ted easier to write if he imagined Mathews's version delivering the lines. "Every time I wrote Ted in the early days, I'd hear Arthur's voice... Ted was this very bland character who'd never curse except for saying a very quiet 'feck' to himself. That panic and turmoil under the surface defined Ted before we even started writing him. Years later, when we did, it was just like pressing 'play' on a tape recorder." One