'Mrs Brown’s Boys' draws lowest ratings ever for 10th anniversary special
Mrs Brown’s Boys has seen its viewing figures plummet, with its live Halloween special drawing its lowest ever ratings.
The hit BBC sitcom - starring Brendan O’Carroll as Irish matriarch Agnes Brown - marked its 10th anniversary with a spooky special airing live on BBC One on Friday 19 October 1t 9.30pm.
The episode was watched by just 2.6 million viewers - the lowest number to tune into a new instalment of the comedy since it launched in 2011.
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Mrs Brown's Boys has become famous for its record-breaking viewing figures, regularly scooping the top Christmas ratings for its specials.
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Last year’s Christmas series was watched by 3.8 million viewers. While in 2019, seven million people tuned in to watch the festive episode.
O'Carroll has already filmed two Christmas specials due to air later this year.
He recently revealed the episodes would be dedicated to former props master Denis Knotts, who died earlier this month following a battle with COVID.
O'Carroll told the Irish Independent: "He was the most adorable man and actually, we dedicated the Christmas episode to him, we loved him very much.
“He's been on every show that we have done with the BBC and that’s ten years now. He was the props master on every one of them; he was lovely.
“We lost one of the family. There were people who had worked with Dennis for 40 years and they are just devastated; they can’t believe it.”
Mrs Brown's Boys aired for three series from 2011 until 2013. Since then it has continued to air a Christmas special every year.
The sitcom also spawned a spin-off chat show All Round to Mrs Brown’s, which aired from 2017 to 2020, and a feature film Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie, which was released in 2014.
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O’Carroll stars in the show with his real life family - including wife Jennifer Gibney, his children Danny and Fiona O’Carroll, his sister Eilish O’Carroll and his grandson Jamie O’Carroll.
The family were due to take the live show Mrs Bown’s Boys D’Musical to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the US in 2020, but the world tour was postponed, before the coronavirus pandemic struck, so that O'Carroll could take time off.
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