As soon as the Catholic League learned that the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was planning on starting a cable station in the U.S., William Donohue wrote a letter to John Birt, Director General of the BBC, expressing his concerns.

The BBC, Donohue said, produced the movie, “Priest” (it was distributed by the Disney owned firm, Miramax) and was weighing the option of bringing its anti-Catholic TV show, “Father Ted,” to the U.S. Donohue said he hopes the BBC will bring the best of what it does to the U.S. and leave behind gems like these. He added that he hopes he does not have a reason to write to Birt ever again.