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Competition Time

"Competition Time"
Father Ted episode
Episode no. Series 1
Episode 4
Directed by Declan Lowney
Written by
Featured music The Divine Comedy
Original air date 12 May 1995 (1995-05-12)
Guest appearance(s)
Episode chronology
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"The Passion of Saint Tibulus"
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List of Father Ted episodes

"Competition Time" is the fourth episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.

The episode begins when, with the annual "All Priests Stars in Their Eyes Lookalike Competition" nearing, Ted shows everyone his Elvis costume, only to find Dougal and Jack wearing exactly the same outfit as him. Ted had been talking about dressing as Elvis for weeks, and Dougal concedes that's "probably" where he got the idea; since reasoning with him is nigh on impossible, Ted accepts he will have to go as Mother Teresa again. Father Dick Byrne (from Rugged Island parochial house) calls Ted and tells Ted that he has no chance of winning. But, since the judge of the competition, TV presenter Henry Sellers, is staying on Craggy Island, Ted believes that their chances of winning will improve if they are nice to him.

When Henry Sellers arrives, Ted greets him warmly but Dougal is unable to think of anything to say. At Ted's prompting, he asks him his age, which is apparently 37. Before Mr. Sellers' arrival, Jack had drunk a bottle of Toilet Duck, causing hallucinations, and he runs away in fear when Mr. Sellers speaks to him. Mr. Sellers is accompanied there by Father Barty Dunne, a priest who laughs at the slightest of things (e.g. Jack losing his slippers), and can't maintain a proper conversation. Mr. Sellers remarks angrily that the car journey was four hours long.

Ted offers to get Henry anything he wants, and says he means anything, but is unable to fulfill any of his requests like getting him an English newspaper and lies about the nature of Rugged Island to keep Henry in the parochial house. Ted and Mrs. Doyle then cajole Henry into taking a drink of sherry before bed. After one drink, Henry consumes more alcohol and becomes angry at everyone, destroying the living room in the process. Father Dunne discloses that Henry is a raging alcoholic who had been "on the wagon" for a year, and that his drinking was the reason the BBC sacked him. Henry then jumps out of the window and runs off into the wilderness.


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