Rory Cowan, who entertains millions with his role in Mrs Brown's Boys, has opened up about the barrage of homophobic abuse he has received on Twitter.

Speaking on Today with Katie Hannon on RTÉ Radio One, the popular actor revealed that he had been compared to prolific ex offender Jimmy Savile by online trolls.

Opening up about the extent of the online abuse, Rory admitted that the level of abuse he received left him shaken.

"This was so vicious and so quick, it was like a kick in the stomach," he told the show's host.

"I was actually sick to my stomach, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and all because of one response I gave to a tweet."

Elaborating on the nature of the anonymous tweets he received, Rory said: "One person said ‘I saw you at the hospital with the kids, shades of Jimmy Savile off you."

"If I had a child in hospital I would take them out if it they were going to be presented with people like you," the anonymous user added.

The actor confirmed that he has sought legal advice from his solicitor who, with the help of the Gardaí, is trying to establish whether the posts originated in Ireland or overseas.