It’s hard to believe that 8.5 million people ever watched Mrs. Brown’s Boys in the first place, but apparently that’s the number by which the show’s viewership has plummeted after it returned to our screens last Friday night.

The BBC comedy is back for another season following a two-year break and a disastrous Christmas special, but only managed an audience of 1.5 million for its big return.

Some might say that’s still 1.5 million too many, but still, it’s a massive 8.5 million drop off from the show’s heyday when some regarded it ‘the best British sitcom’ around.

Of course, we must take into the account that these numbers don’t account for streaming figures, but those are hardly going to make up even one million people, let alone 8.5 million.

SuperTV confirmed on X that the show ‘returned with just 1.5 million viewers, the lowest audience it has ever recorded.’

Not great for a comeback show, but who knows? Maybe that will improve. For comparison, at the peak of Mrs Brown’s Boys’ popularity – Season 3 in 2012 – the show brought in over 9 million viewers every episode.

That year, 10.72 million people tuned in for the Christmas Eve episode, with 11.69 million returning the next day for the second part.

Last year’s Christmas episode pulled in just 2.2 million viewers and was widely panned, while Gavin and Stacey’s return yielded 12 million viewers – a whole 10 million more!

Admittedly, I’ve never watched an episode of Mrs Brown’s Boys by choice, but when I have caught bits of it, I’ve failed to understand what’s so funny about it. What’s crazy is that they actually film it in front of a live audience, so it’s not just canned laughter. People actually go and see it live!

You might argue that it’s ‘old’ British humour, but there’s plenty of shows that are decades older than Mrs Brown’s Boys that still hold up today and are genuinely funny.

Well anyway, at this rate, I wouldn’t hold out to much hope for Mrs. Brown’s Boys being renewed for another season after this one. I’m sure your grandma will be absolutely devastated. Maybe she can get a petition going?

For the Doctor Who actor who told viewers to ‘turn off the TV’ if they don’t like him – leading to a viewership drop of 50% – click HERE.