Tom Hiddleston may be the unlikely inspiration behind a T-shirt stunt to mark Mrs Brown’s Boys’ first live TV broadcast.

Cast members of the popular BBC One comedy are seen in photos wearing T-shirts which sport a letter, while the T-shirt of creator and star Brendan O’Carroll carries a large red heart.

The overall effect spells out a “We heart” sentence in each of the photos.

The cast of Mrs Brown's Boys in T-shirts
The cast of Mrs Brown’s Boys in T-shirts (BBC)

One says “We heart Agnes Brown” – a reference to the show’s matriarch. The other two are “We heart bangers” and “We heart a***”.

Emmy Award-nominated Tom, who is dating singer Taylor Swift, was snapped earlier this month wearing a vest emblazoned with “I heart T.S”.

Brendan O’Carroll said nearly 40,000 fans applied for the 400 tickets available to see Saturday’s live episode. Speaking on Friday during an interview with ITV’s This Morning, Brendan added: “We’re very lucky – it’s great fun for us to do.”

The cast of Mrs Brown's Boys
The cast of Mrs Brown’s Boys (BBC)

Mrs Brown’s Boys Live: Mammy Sutra is part of the BBC’s landmark sitcom season celebrating the programming genre.

Irishman Brendan, 60, plays Agnes Brown, the potty-mouthed mammy who cannot resist interfering in the lives of her family and friends.

Asked to account for the show’s popularity, he said: “Everybody knows an Agnes or somebody like Agnes.

Brendan O'Carroll and wife Jennifer Gibney play mother and daughter in Mrs Brown's Boys
Brendan O’Carroll and wife Jennifer Gibney play mother and daughter in Mrs Brown’s Boys (Artur Widak/PA)

“It’s either an aunt or a granny or a mother and everybody knows one.”

He said his character resonated with audiences because of her genuine love for her children. “There’s a warmth about Agnes. There’s something about her, she actually adores her children and I think that’s her redeeming factor,” he said.

In the live episode, Agnes discovers son Mark Brown (Pat “Pepsi” Shields) and his wife Betty (Amanda Woods) are experiencing problems in the bedroom.

Brendan O'Carroll as Agnes Brown
Brendan O’Carroll as Agnes Brown (Yui Mok/PA)

She takes it upon herself to fix the situation.

The show is renowned for its profanity, but Mrs Brown’s Boys Live: Mammy Sutra will be broadcast without a delay so any swear words will slip through the net.

Originally a radio show in 1992, Mrs Brown’s Boys made its TV debut in 2011 and has become one of the biggest comedy shows on television.