The BBC sitcom has won numerous awards over the years, but with plummeting ratings and viewers demanding it’s cancelled, Mrs Brown’s Boys creator Brendan O’Carroll has confirmed its future

Brendan O’Carroll gives update on future of Mrs Brown’s Boys as viewers demand it’s ‘cancelled’(Image: BBC / Alan Peebles)

Mrs Brown’s Boys creator Brendan O’Carroll has given an update on the future of the comedy, amid plummeting ratings and calls for it to be cancelled.

The BBC sitcom continued its festive tradition with its twelfth Christmas Day special this year, but only managed to pull in 2.2 million viewers. Compared with the 11.5 million who watched the first special, in 2013, the ratings suggest the show is on its way out.

The sitcom follows the foul-mouthed Agnes Brown, who is played by Brendan. The matriarch meddles in the lives of her family and friends, intruding on their privacy to make sure nothing is kept secret from her, with plenty of slapstick comedy and silly voices.

As well as the Christmas specials, Mrs Brown’s Boys has had four series, tours across the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, plus multiple DVD releases of its live shows. It has also won NTAs and BAFTAs, as well as a TV Choice Award for Best Comedy in 2024.

Viewers have slated the sitcom on social media(Image: BBC / BocPIX / Greame Hunter)

But despite it’s apparent popularity on paper, some are calling for the long-running show to be axed. Following the Christmas special, viewers took to X. One wrote: “I’m so sick of seeing Mrs Brown’s Boys on TV every single Christmas. Why would they air that s**t and take up time for good shows.”

Another added: “Whoever thinks Mrs Brown’s Boys is funny needs to give their heads a wobble. Please let it end once and for all.” Another disgruntled viewer agreed: “The most idiotic show on TV throughout the past decade. I turned it on to see if it’s as bad as everyone is saying, and it was 10 times worse.”

But unimpressed social media users are likely to be highly disappointed to hear the show isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Brendan told the Daily Star: “We are going to film another series in April and May [2025]. It’s lovely to be asked to do another one.”

The BBC’s head of comedy, Jon Petrie, said (via British Comedy Guide): “Brendan has created an iconic comedy character in Agnes Brown. Mrs. Brown’s Boys is a BAFTA-winning comedy show and one of the BBC’s most-watched comedies ever… I’m proud to have it in the BBC Comedy stable.”

In a previous interview with The Mirror, Brendan admitted he actually hates dressing up as his character Agnes. He said: “I don’t know how women wear tights, or survive with mammaries. I have a huge admiration for women, honest to God the stuff they have to go through. And here’s the thing.. I can’t stand the taste of lipstick. I hate it, it tastes of soap. If you watch the show you’ll see that I never lick my lips, never. So as soon as the show’s over, it all comes off straight away and I put her back in her box.”

He also insisted that nobody would ever meet Mrs Brown in person, saying: “Mrs Brown doesn’t leave the theatre ever. I’ve never done a talk show as Mrs Brown, or an interview as her. She has nothing to say. What would you ask her? How’s the family? I have no inkling to take her onto the street. Everyone will recognise her, Jesus I’d be battered. It’s hard enough being Brendan O’Carroll. If it wasn’t for me doing Jonathan Ross, no one would know me. And I’d have no problem with that.”