Since it's launch in 2011, the TV show Mrs. Brown's Boys was an instant success in both Ireland and the UK with an average viewership of 753,500.
The RTE and BBC sitcom follows Dublin mother Agnes Brown who can't help but meddle in the lives of her six children. The colourful character is played by Brendan O'Carroll and the rest of the cast is played by his family and close friends.
The popular series has won multiple awards in Ireland and the UK including the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Entertainment Program. However, since airing, Mrs Brown's Boys has faced several controversies over the years.
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UK ratings drop
In the UK, the BBC has seen ratings drop by almost a third recently, which has left many of the cast fearing that the show will not be on the air for much longer. One telly insider told the Daily Star : “There is a feeling among some of the cast that the show is not going to run for much longer. The ratings are down and it feels like viewers are getting tired of it.
“For many of the cast, this show is their main source of income, so it’s nerve-racking to think about it ending. But they are trying to be realistic.”
However, in December 2020, O’Carroll put these rumours to rest as he announced that additional Christmas specials had been commissioned up to 2026, stating: "This new deal we signed last week goes all the way to 2026, which means I will be able to grow into the part, and we’ve a clause in which guarantees Mrs Brown is aired at 10pm on Christmas night, or else we don’t have to make it."
A fourth season is due to be filmed for the show this year, which will be the first new season in almost 10 years.
Behind the scenes 'secret feud'
Nothing puts a damper on a successful show quite like rows between the actors. Gary Hollywood, who played Dino Doyle on the show, has alluded to a row over pay being the reason he quit in 2020. He later said in an interview that he was glad he was glad to be gone.
He said: “I’m getting on with my life. I’m out of the show now and to be honest, I am glad in a sense. I feel free from all the murkiness and what it is becoming.
“It’s very strange to not be on the show after 10 years of doing Christmas specials. People have been very supportive and asking if I’m okay.
"We have all grown up together. We have shared in success. So I don’t know why this had to turn out dirty and murky. It feels like a bad divorce."
O’Carroll admitted last year that he misses Hollywood on the show. Brendan said: “He was a great actor, and we miss him. He used to call me father. He was part of the family, and we haven’t spoken since and haven’t heard a word from him since.”
Co-star couple split after 15 years
Fiona O’Carroll and Martin Delany, confirmed in 2022 they split after 15 years of marriage. The pair starred on the show together.
The acting pair play in-laws Maria Brown and Trevor Brown in the RTE comedy series and started dating in their teens before tying the knot in 2006.
Fiona revealed: "We wanted different things. I still have a lot of love for him and I only want the best for him and I think he feels the same way about me."
"There were no major fights, and nobody else was involved but it was a case of not being on the same page any longer."
New Year's special slammed as "unfunny"
The recent New Year's Day special received terrible feedback from viewers who slammed the show as "unfunny and smutty". The episode followed Agnes Brown waiting for the valuation of an antique vase which has been in the family for years while Buster and Dermot were convinced that Cathy's boyfriend Boris was a vampire.
Viewers took to social media to criticise the special with one person saying: "@MrsBrownsBoys absolutely shocking. Both episodes over the holidays. How can this be called comedy? It truly isn’t."
Another person added: "Such a shame to see so much hate against #MrsBrownsBoys, it's sad but I remember loving this programme when it first came out at Xmas, now it's unfunny and smutty." A third viewer said: "It’s unbelievable that it is still running after so many years? I remember a major family fallout one Xmas, concerning whether Mrs Browns Boys was funny or not."
Someone else said: "Nan's making me watch Mrs Browns Boys. 2023 is ruined already." Another Twitter user said: "Mrs BrownsBoys used to be amazing but now it's awful. Either cancel it or bring in new writers. It's had its day."
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