Outnumbered fans switch off ‘depressing’ Christmas special as creators justify storyline choice-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro

The Outnumbered clan have reunited for one episode (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

The Outnumbered clan got back together for a Christmas reunion episode, and viewers felt a little underwhelmed by the choice of plot.

In the festive special of the beloved BBC sitcom, fans got to see the Brockman family at a different stage of their lives.

When the series first began airing in 2007, Sue (Claire Skinner) and Pete (Hugh Dennis) were busying themselves raising their three young children, each with unique and differing personalties.

In their first episode for eight years, Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), Ben (Daniel Roche) and Karen (Romona Marquez) were all grown up so the parents faced a different set of problems. They contended with parenting adults, and their new role as grandparents.

Written and directed by creators Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, Sue and Pete, like many people across the globe, tried to gather their children together for a traditional family Christmas (in November due to the family being in different locations on December 25).

On top of the usual humour, chaotic family shenanigans, an unwanted guest in the form of friend Jane (Hattie Morahan) and an adorable new family member, there was a more serious storyline.

Pete and Sue spoke to their family about his health diagnosis (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

Pete reveals he has been diagnosed with treatable prostate cancer, and after putting it off due to worrying about how they may take it, he finally tells their offspring.

In an emotional scene Pete and Sue sit their children down to break the news. However, Ben hasn’t yet made it to the family fun at all after facing multiple travel issues, so he finds out through a video call. The trademark humour is still evident with Ben struggling to hear Pete’s news as the connection keeps getting lost.

‘We’ll know they are okay when they start taking the p**s,’ Peter later said in a sweet chat in the aftermath.

Speaking about the decision, Guy said: ‘People often remember Outnumbered for the delightful children, but it always dealt with quite serious things: dementia, death, homophobia.

‘We dealt with that through how parents explain it to their children and this is the same except that the children are considerably larger.

‘There’s still a stigma attached to the word cancer and we just wanted to show how very, very normal it is, as well as how the Brockmans dealt with it with warmth, love and especially humour because that’s a very British way of dealing with that sort of stuff,’ he added.

He also hoped that people who are going through something similar felt ‘reassured and comforted.’

The children are all grown up (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

Covering the serious subject in the Christmas episode led to a strong reaction from viewers, with some not appreciating the reality.

‘Pete having cancer I fucking h**e this,’ wrote Kennedy.

Heather Rhiannon added: ‘Why did they bring it back though just for it to have a depressing storyline on boxing day.’

‘Bloody hell it’s a Christmas special but they’re bringing cancer into it. Bit depressing,’ echoed Aidan.

Siohan said: ‘I wasn’t expecting Pete to have c*ncer. They seriously put that in the Christmas special?! And all the stuff with Jane being depressed and Jake being so tired he can barely function and the neighbors being noisy… This isn’t Christmasy at all.’

Others didn’t enjoy the contents of the episode. ‘As a die hard #Outnumbered fan… this isn’t the best is it?’ Faith wrote. Squidwheat weighed in: ‘This is so boring omg what happened?! The last special was really good too.’

‘Sorry, but I’ve had to switch #Outnumbered off. Loved it the first time around but this isn’t landing in the same way. Feels very flat. Shame,’ typed a dissapointed Elliot Gonzalez. Di Taylor also felt forced to ‘switch channels’ after finding it unfunny.

‘Is this funny ? I don’t think so. Depressing characters and depressing script,’ fumed TwitchersRest43.

The creators wanted viewers to feel less alone (Picture: BBC)

Elsewhere in the episode, Jake is struggling with parenting his daughter Zara, who spends all her time pretending to be an animal. The pressure of working and parenting has put pressure on his relationship with his partner Rani (Kerena Jagpal), who he’s constantly fighting with.

Meanwhile, Karen has recently split with a girlfriend called Lucy, quit another job, and is considering changing her name due to the 2024 connotations of being a ‘middle-aged complainer’.

Pete and Sue guided each child through their individual issues, with the episode being a stark reminder that parents aren’t any less needed as children get older.

Outnumbered is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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