Mrs Brown’s Boys suffers lowest ratings ever as fans slam ‘exceptionally bad’ special-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

Mrs Brown’s Boys hit with brutal ratings blow (Picture: BBC / BocPIX / Greame Hunter)

Mrs Brown’s Boys ratings have plummeted off a cliff with a widely-panned Christmas special amid calls for the comedy series to be axed.

The controversial BBC show follows the life of the interfering Agnes Brown (played by Brendan O’Carroll) and has aired five series and 12 Christmas Day specials since 2011.

The crass, provocative humour has had millions tuning in over the years, with the first December 25 special in 2013 pulling in a whopping 11.52 million nationwide viewers.

However, this was its peak. After that, the show averaged around nine million viewers as it slowly declined in popularity.

The last time it featured in the top 10 rated shows on Christmas day was in 2020 (with 3.8m viewers) and it’s only continued its downward spiral.

This has culminated in the 2024 Christmas Special (Ding Dong Mammy), in which Mrs Brown has to ‘convince her nearest and dearest that she’s not grumpy’ securing a measly 2.2 million viewers.

The show has dropped from 11 million to 2 million viewers over the course of a decade (Picture: BBC / BocPIX / Greame Hunter)

It is a far cry from the top shows on UK TV this Christmas which the BBC dominated with the likes of the Gavin and Stacey special (12.3m) and Wallace and Gromit (9.38m).

And the reception from fans online has been poor.

‘They actually managed to make Mrs Brown’s Boys worse with the addition of this one,’ @dannydenay wrote on X.

‘Anyone who thinks #GavinandStacey wasn’t any good better be watching the first 5 minutes of this shite #MrsBrownsBoys – what a load of rubbish,’ @EvointheMill shared.

‘It is just not funny at all,’ @chef_lee commented.

‘This was exceptionally bad this year…more than usual,’ @ads900 added.

‘#MrsBrownsBoys started off well a few years ago, but Christmas 2023 was awful, I stuck with it, and after watching tonight, it’s got worse. It’s just not funny now. The BBC need to drop it now, unfortunately

‘Baffles me how it’s got so bad after the great start it had,’ @paulc1884 echoed.

Fans have slammed it as ‘rubbish’ and getting worse (Picture: BBC / BocPIX / Greame Hunter)

And if the fourth-wall break in the episode is anything to go by, it took ‘six months to write this episode’ which has received a slew of one-star reviews.

‘Even BBC One seems embarrassed by this antediluvian affair of single entendres and sickly sentimentality,’ The Telegraph wrote while The Independent called it a ‘crime against comedy’.

Earlier this year, lead star O’Carroll, 69, was slammed after it emerged the comic had made a ‘clumsy joke’ implying a ‘racial term’ on set which led to a Black staff member reportedly quitting the show and a BBC investigation.

This ramped up calls for the show to finally be pulled from screens but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

Despite a controversy in October, the show continues to air on BBC (Picture: BBC / BocPIX / Greame Hunter)

Not only did Mrs Brown’s Boys secure a primetime slot on the festive calendar but will return, as usual, for a New Year’s special.

In a recent interview, O’Carroll reflected on how pleased he is to have a top spot on the BBC.

‘To have that now as my slot, particularly on the BBC, I’m very proud to be part of the BBC family. It is a privilege and to have had it for 11, 12 years now, I only signed up for 18 episodes and this will be 51!’ he told TV Guide.

There is currently no news on whether the BBC will renew the show for end-of-year-specials in 2025.

Mrs Brown Boys is streaming on BBC iPlayer. The New Year’s special, B&B Mammy, airs on January 1, 2025 at 10:30pm on BBC One.

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