Father Dougal McGuire Linehan and Mathews to discard the mockumentary format and expand the Father Ted episode to a traditional sitcom, Father Dougal became one of the main characters. When writing Dougal, Linehan and Mathews drew on Stan Laurel, incorporating some of Linehan's own behaviour during moments of confusion. Linehan and Mathews saw O'Hanlon in a modernised Shakespeare play broadcast by RTÉ, and were impressed by the "weird, gormless" face he could pull. Linehan later said, "That was Dougal right there. He was just spot-on and he became our secret weapon. The show took off so quickly because Ardal was so instantly funny."
"Good Luck, Father Ted" island. As the day of the interview arrives, Dougal is excited about attending "Fun Land", a funfair that has been set up on "The Field". Ted tells Dougal to take Jack via wheelchair to walk along the cliffs while he goes to meet the reporter at the fair; however, Dougal and Jack soon appear at the fair, Dougal claiming that the cliffs were "closed" and "gone" due to erosion as an excuse to attend the fair. Ted, who has yet to meet the reporter, unsuccessfully tries to usher Dougal and Jack away. Jack soon takes off on his own while