Mrs Brown’s Boys’ Christmas return sparks horror from BBC viewers

Mrs Brown’s Boys’ return to screens for two more Christmas specials has sparked horror from many BBC viewers.

The divisive sitcom, which has been both loved and maligned since its inception in 2011, is set to air two more episodes over the festive period, despite being plagued with claims of backstage drama and the departure of two cast members.

Many viewers took to social media to share their reaction to the BBC’s announcement of their Christmas lineup, with the network hopeful it will tempt viewers away from streaming services such as Netflix.

It’s back? Mrs Brown’s Boys’ return to screens for two more Christmas specials has sparked horror from many BBC viewers

Mrs Brown’s Boys is at the helm of BBC’s Christmas lineup, with another pair of specials featuring the Irish mammy’s hijinks, but news of its return has split viewers.

One wrote: ‘FFS @BBC come on – you cannot be serious! You surely aren’t pinning your hopes for Xmas viewing on #mrsbrownsboys. The #bbc has really lost the plot! Pathetic.’

Another wrote: ‘DOOMED. We are all doomed. If the BBC are relying on Mrs Brown’s Boys they are toast.’

A third also penned: ‘Christ no! Two Mrs Browns Boys specials again! Last years script rehashed no doubt. Absolute rubbish.’

Controversy: The divisive sitcom, which has been both loved and maligned since its inception in 2011, is set to air two more episodes over the festive period

Controversy: The divisive sitcom, which has been both loved and maligned since its inception in 2011, is set to air two more episodes over the festive period

One tweeted: ‘@BBCOne must be desperately short of quality programs over the festive period, not one but TWO specials of @MrsBrownsBoys, what sort of fresh hell is this?’

‘By putting Mrs Browns Boys on you’ve already turned away many of the viewers they’re trying to tempt back.’

‘Think I would rather watch this at Christmas than Mrs Browns Boys,’ a fan tweeted while another said: ‘Mrs Browns Boys is one of the unfunniest TV programmes ever made. Absolutely dire nonsense which the BBC seems to think is funny.’  

However some viewers did rush to defend the programme, with one writing: ‘Love Mrs Brown’s Boys, but I hope these are better than the Halloween special.;

Another added: ‘Genuinely love Mrs Browns Boys.’

In the past Mrs Brown’s Boys has been plagued with controversy, slammed for its backstage politics as two of its actors reportedly quit the show amid a pay gap dispute.

At odds: Mrs Brown's Boys is at the helm of BBC's Christmas lineup, with another pair of specials featuring the Irish mammy's hijinks, but news of its return has split viewers

At odds: Mrs Brown’s Boys is at the helm of BBC’s Christmas lineup, with another pair of specials featuring the Irish mammy’s hijinks, but news of its return has split viewers

The actors in question – Damien McKiernan and Gary Hollywood, who play couple Dino and Rory – were said to have discovered they earn less than the rest of the cast – which is largely made up of star Brendan O’Carroll’s family.

And an insider exclusively told MailOnline last year that the way the show is run behind-the-scenes makes for an unhappy work environment.

‘The show is very Upstairs/Downstairs, with a very clear divide between Brendan’s family and the few actual actors such as Gary and Damien,’ the insider said. 

Drama: In the past the show has faced claims of 'backstage politics,' after two of its cast members quit the show during a pay dispute

Drama: In the past the show has faced claims of ‘backstage politics,’ after two of its cast members quit the show during a pay dispute

‘The family are all directors of the Mrs Brown’s production company and are always looked after. The BBC let Brendan do whatever he wants!’

MailOnline approached the BBC for comment at the time.

As well as the dispute over money, Gary and Damien were allegedly told they were not going to feature in the 2020 Christmas specials. 

Although he has not disclosed his salary from the show, O’Carroll’s net worth was last calculated in 2013 when it was an astounding £9.98 million / €11 million.

In 2017, however, the stars of the show revealed how they were in debt in the early runs. But in 2019 it was reported that profits at a Brendan O’Carroll entertainment company almost doubled to £584,311 / €643,876 the year before.

BBC’s Christmas TV lineup is REVEALED: Mrs Brown’s Boys returns for two festive specials, Doctor Who kicks off 2022 and A Very British Scandal debuts 

  • Mrs Brown’s Boys will return with two festive specials, with the first expected to air on Christmas Day
  • Doctor Who will also return on New Year’s Day with its first of three specials to be broadcast in 2022
  • Call The Midwife will also return for its ninth annual Christmas episode, with Nonnatus House gripped by wedding fever
  • Gameshow favourites will also hit screens with Christmas Specials, including Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, The Hit List and Would I Lie To You?
  • A Very British Scandal and Around The World in 80 Days lead the lineup of epic dramas set to grip viewers over the festive period 

BBC have unveiled their sparkling Christmas TV lineup, with a mixture of lifelong favourites and gripping dramas set to delight viewers over the festive period.

Leading the schedule is the return of Mrs Browns Boys, which will once again hit screens with two festive specials, and Doctor Who, which will kick off 2022 with a star-studded New Year’s Day special.

Also filling the lineup are festive versions of game show favourites The Wheel and The Hit List, as well as the debut of the much-anticipated period drama A Very British Scandal.

Exciting: BBC have unveiled their sparkling Christmas TV lineup, with Mrs Brown’s Boys once again set to return for two festive specials

Mrs Brown’s Boys  

As ever Mrs Brown’s Boys will either leave viewers in hysterics with two one-off specials, with Agnes becoming a non-singing member of the choice, whilst New Year brings about fresh starts for the beloved Irish family.

Doctor Who 

Following the news that Jodie Whittaker will be leaving her role as the titular Time Lord in 2022, Doctor Who will be returning to kick off the New Year, with a slew of guest stars including Aisling Bea, Adjani Salmon and Pauline McLynn.

Sarah (played by Bea) owns and runs ELF storage, and Nick (Adjani Salmon) is a customer who visits his unit every year on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, their night turns out to be a little different than planned.

Anticipated: Following the news that Jodie Whittaker will be leaving her role as the titular Time Lord in 2022, Doctor Who will be returning to kick off the New Year

Call The Midwife 

Christmas special:  Call The Midwife will also return for its ninth annual Christmas episode, with Nonnatus House gripped by wedding fever as Lucille and Cyril prepare to tie the knot

Christmas special:  Call The Midwife will also return for its ninth annual Christmas episode, with Nonnatus House gripped by wedding fever as Lucille and Cyril prepare to tie the knot

Call The Midwife will also return for its ninth annual Christmas episode, with Nonnatus House gripped by wedding fever as Lucille and Cyril prepare to tie the knot. 

But as the maternity home is filled with mothers-to-be, Mother Mildred is once again on hand to help.

The show took to Instagram in September to tease fans with a first look at the upcoming episode, and said Lucille ‘has a lot to prepare for’ alongside a slew of wedding emoji’s.   

Death In Paradise 

He's back! Death In Paradise fans can also enjoy a trip to Saint Marie in the show's first ever Christmas Special, where star Danny John-Jules will also make an unexpected return

He’s back! Death In Paradise fans can also enjoy a trip to Saint Marie in the show’s first ever Christmas Special, where star Danny John-Jules will also make an unexpected return

Death In Paradise fans can also enjoy a trip to Saint Marie in the show’s first ever Christmas Special, where star Danny John-Jules will also make an unexpected return. 

Concluding the tenth anniversary celebrations, the festive 90-minute special, which stretches from a grey damp drizzly London all the way to the warm sparkling beauty of idyllic Saint Marie, will see the return of Danny as charismatic Officer Dwayne Myers, for this celebratory episode.

Also joining the regular cast for this one-off sunny special are Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), Juliet Stevenson (Riviera), Stanley Townsend (Informer) and Jocelyn Jee Esien (Jack & The Beanstalk: After Ever After), Anthony Calf (Poldark).

Attenborough And The Mammoth Graveyard 

Interestin gS; ir David Attenborough joins biologist Prof. Ben Garrod as they carefully excavate the quarry where the bones of a mammoth were found

Interestin gS; ir David Attenborough joins biologist Prof. Ben Garrod as they carefully excavate the quarry where the bones of a mammoth were found

Sir David Attenborough joins biologist Prof. Ben Garrod and a team of archaeologists and palaeontologists as they carefully excavate the quarry where the bones of a mammoth were found. 

As the team finds more stone tools lying side-by-side with more mammoth bones they realise this could be a once in a generation discovery offering a unique window into prehistoric Britain. 

Shaun The Sheep 

Happy Ewe Year: Family favourite Shaun The Sheep will also debut a festive special titled The Flight Before Christmas

Happy Ewe Year: Family favourite Shaun The Sheep will also debut a festive special titled The Flight Before Christmas

Family favourite Shaun The Sheep will also debut a festive special titled The Flight Before Christmas, while an animated adaptation of Superworm will be narrated by Olivia Colman, Rob Brydon and Matt Smith.

The Flight Before Christmas sees Shaun’s seasonal excitement turn to dismay when a farmhouse raid to get bigger stockings for the Flock inadvertently leads to Timmy going missing.  

Strictly Come Dancing 

Dazzling: Strictly Come Dancing will return for its first festive special in two years, after last year's Christmas show was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic (2019 show pictured)

Dazzling: Strictly Come Dancing will return for its first festive special in two years, after last year’s Christmas show was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic (2019 show pictured)

Strictly Come Dancing is also set to return to screens for its first festive special in two years, after last year’s Christmas show was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

This year’s show will see a brand new lineup of celebrities taking part, with the first two names, The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades and First Dates’ Fred Sirieix, confirmed on Monday. 

A Very British Scandal 

Dramatic: Meanwhile, viewers keen to get their teeth into another drama can look forward to A Very British Scandal, which stars Claire Foy and Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll

Dramatic: Meanwhile, viewers keen to get their teeth into another drama can look forward to A Very British Scandal, which stars Claire Foy and Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll

Meanwhile, viewers keen to get their teeth into another drama can look forward to Sarah Phelps’ A Very British Scandal which stars Claire Foy and Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, recounts one of the most notorious legal cases of the 20th century.

The Tourist 

Drama: Jamie Dornan stars as a British man who finds himself in the glowing red heart of the Australian outback, being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road

Drama: Jamie Dornan stars as a British man who finds himself in the glowing red heart of the Australian outback, being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road

Jamie Dornan stars as a British man who finds himself in the glowing red heart of the Australian outback, being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road. An epic cat and mouse chase unfolds and the man later wakes in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive. Except he has no idea who he is. 

Around the World in 80 Days  

Exciting: David Tennant transformed into his role as Phileas Fogg in the first fast-paced trailer released for the TV adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days on Tuesday

Exciting: David Tennant transformed into his role as Phileas Fogg in the first fast-paced trailer released for the TV adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days on Tuesday

David Tennant will also star in an epic adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in 80 Days, starring as the intrepid explorer Phileas Fogg alongside Leonie Benesch and Ibrahim Koma. 

The former Doctor Who actor, 50, stars as the main character for the new series which is based on the adventure novel by Jules Verne. 

The trailer begins with Phileas joined by journalist Abigail Fix, portrayed by Leonie Benesch, and French valet Jean Passepartout, played by Ibrahim, in the back of a carriage as they start their globe-trotting adventure.   

Ghosts

Festive: In the run up to the festive season, Kitty becomes convinced that Santa has made an early stop at Button House in Ghosts Christmas special

Festive: In the run up to the festive season, Kitty becomes convinced that Santa has made an early stop at Button House in Ghosts Christmas special 

Ghosts will be back for a special Christmas episode this December.

In the run up to the festive season, Kitty becomes convinced that Santa has made an early stop at Button House when Mike and Alison discover a man living in a tent on their grounds. 

The ghosts’ advice on how to deal with him leaves much to be desired, but eventually Mike and Alison learn that they have more to offer this Christmas than they realised.

Written and created by Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond. The Christmas episode also guest stars Jennifer Saunders. 

 Worzel Gummidge 

Drama: Two brand new films directed, created and starring Mackenzie Crook: Twitchers and Calliope Jane - inspired by the classic books by Barbara Euphan Todd - are coming to BBC One

Drama: Two brand new films directed, created and starring Mackenzie Crook: Twitchers and Calliope Jane – inspired by the classic books by Barbara Euphan Todd – are coming to BBC One

Two brand new one-hour films directed, created and starring Mackenzie Crook: Twitchers and Calliope Jane – inspired by the classic books by Barbara Euphan Todd – are coming to BBC One this Christmas. 

The Repair Shop 

Skill: Treasured Christmas keepsakes are not the only items on the menu this Christmas at the Repair Shop, as Secret Santa has again challenged every expert to create a gift from scratch

Skill: Treasured Christmas keepsakes are not the only items on the menu this Christmas at the Repair Shop, as Secret Santa has again challenged every expert to create a gift from scratch

In the Repair Shop this Christmas, the team takes on a very special mechanical doll, a traditional German decoration, an ageing harmonium, and a train set all the way from Kenya. 

Gameshows  

A slew of gameshow favourites will also hit screens with Christmas Specials, including Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, The Hit List,  I Can See Your Voice, Blankety Blank and Would I Lie To You? 

Blankety Blank 

Fun: Bradley Walsh hosts a fun-filled festive special of the legendary gameshow.

Fun: Bradley Walsh hosts a fun-filled festive special of the legendary gameshow.

Bradley Walsh hosts a fun-filled festive special of the legendary gameshow. A panel of six celebrities to fill in the missing BLANKS and help win some brilliant prizes for some very lucky contestants. He’s joined by Angela Rippon, Richard E Grant, Tom Allen, Sarah Millican, Mel B and Danny Jones. 

The Weakest Link 

Special: The Weakest Link will also return to screens for a one-off Christmas Special, with Romesh Ranganathan taking over hosting duties from Anne Robinson

The Weakest Link will also return to screens for a one-off Christmas Special, with Romesh Ranganathan taking over hosting duties from Anne Robinson. 

The Wall Vs Celebrities Christmas Specials 

Quiz: Hosted by Danny Dyer, with questions voiced by TV legend Angela Rippon, the ultimate combination of strategy, general knowledge and luck returns to BBC One

Quiz: Hosted by Danny Dyer, with questions voiced by TV legend Angela Rippon, the ultimate combination of strategy, general knowledge and luck returns to BBC One

Hosted by Danny Dyer, with questions voiced by TV legend Angela Rippon, the ultimate combination of strategy, general knowledge and luck returns to BBC One this festive season with two celebrity specials.

The first episode is an EastEnders special, as Walford favourites Maddy Hill and James Bye take on the biggest game on TV. Will The Wall play grinch on this festive occasion or can Maddy and James win big for their charities?

Would I Lie To You? At Christmas 

Star cast: Rob Brydon is back in the host¿s chair for a festive edition of the award-winning comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?

Star cast: Rob Brydon is back in the host’s chair for a festive edition of the award-winning comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?

Rob Brydon is back in the host’s chair for a festive edition of the award-winning comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?

David Mitchell is joined by Jim Broadbent and Rose Matafeo while Lee Mack is joined by Angela Rippon and Ardal O’Hanlon. 

The second episode to air over the festive period features award winning stand-up comedian Sarah Millican alongside her husband and fellow stand up Gary Delaney, as they take on The Wall in a bid to walk away with a cash prize for their chosen charity.  

Lee Mack’s Not Going Out will also return as the family take a trip to the pantomime, while The Ghosts will also hit screens for a Christmas Special, when the spooky residents of Button House find a man sleeping in a tent in the grounds. 

Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer says: ‘Christmas 2021 is a time to reunite with friends and family once more, and this year’s line-up of must-see shows will bring everyone together to share the festive season on the BBC. 

‘There’s a stocking full of special programmes to enthral and enchant featuring your favourite stars and characters, whatever your mood. The BBC is the place to be entertained this Christmas and New Year.’ 

Hitting screens: A slew of gameshow favourites will also hit screens with Christmas specials, including Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel (pictured), The Hit List and Would I Lie To You?

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk