Irish comedian Mario Rosenstock is in talks with the BBC about producing comedy sketches during this summer's World Cup. If he receives the go-ahead, the segments – a cross between RTE's Après Match and the Special1 TV series Rosenstock made for Setanta – would make the him a household name in Britain.

Rosenstock (right)?refused to comment on the talks last week, but an industry source said conversations between the Gift Grub creator and the BBC were in their initial stages. The corporation is said to have taken an interest after seeing the positive response in England to Special1 tv and the way in which RTE has made comedy a big part of its football coverage since the 1998 World Cup when Après Match came into its own.

Rosenstock will next perform when he takes to the stage of Dublin's new Grand Canal Theatre for a live run of Gift Grub. It is also expected that the show will be made into the first ever Gift Grub DVD. "I am delighted to be taking Gift Grub on the road, and the response has been fantastic," he said.

Rosenstock is also currently co-presenting RTE show That's All We've Got Time For with Kevin Myers and fellow comedian Barry Murphy, and has hit out at critics of the show.

"It has been a learning experience. We have been constantly compared to shows like Have I Got News For You, a show which is well-established. Like any good show that has ever been created, it needed time to get off the ground – it can't just be an overnight hit with viewers," said Rosenstock.

"Kevin Myers has been the most pleasurable to work with, despite what others might think. He is very sparky and very direct, things are never really dull around him."

The show is set to run for seven weeks.