Mrs Brown's Boys will be back

Two more festive specials for BBC One

Mrs. Brown's Boys is to return to BBC One for two more episodes.

Brendan O'Carroll's much-derided sitcom will be back for its usual Christmas and New Year specials, the British Comedy Guide reports.

The news comes as the show has again made the headlines after BBC comedy boss Jon Petrie was asked at a press event whether he personally found the show funny.

Moderator Michelle De Swarte said he didn’t need to respond – leading to reports that he had dodged the question.

Later in the session he said the show was still attracting good ratings and amid the press reports issued a statements calling Agnes Brown ‘an iconic comedy character’, adding: ‘It’s made me laugh many times and seeing Mrs Brown’s Boys live is an unforgettable experience – I feel very lucky that I’ve had the chance to witness it and I’m proud to have it in the BBC comedy stable.’

Starting life as a stage show, Mrs Brown’s Boys has been on the BBC since 2011. At its peak – the 2013 festive specials – it was seen by well over 11million viewers. Last year’s were watched by an average of 3.67million o. Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

It was still the second was the second most-watched comedy episode of the year behind the Ghosts special.

At the BBC comedy event earlier, Petrie said he wanted producers to pitch more mainstream comedies and fewer comedy-dramas, saying: ‘[Viewers] want jokes, they want shows that make them laugh and the ones that they are re-watching again and again are Ghosts, Motherland, Not Going Out and Mrs Brown's Boys. They still get huge numbers for us’

» Chortle's full report on the BBC press event

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Published: 22 Jun 2024