When are the Mrs Brown's Boys 2018 Christmas and New Year specials on TV?
Everything you need to know about the comedy set to be one of the most-watched shows on TV this Christmas
Mrs Brown’s Boys has become a key part of the BBC's Christmas schedules since the comedy first landed on TV back in 2011.
Having spawned three series, several Christmas specials and a movie in 2014, star Brendan O'Carroll is even planning a live musical version of Mrs Brown’s Boys in 2019.
The Irish sitcom has ruled the Christmas TV ratings too: 6.8 million viewers watched Mrs Brown’s Boys on Christmas Day 2017.
While O’Carroll, 63, has turned his attentions to fronting spin-off chat show All Round to Mrs Brown’s, he has suggested that he could be prepared to put an end to the hugely popular sitcom.
- Will there be any more Mrs Brown's Boys?
- Who is the new Rory in Mrs Brown's Boys?
- How are the cast of Mrs Brown's Boys related?
Could this Christmas special be the last we see of Mrs Brown’s Boys? Here’s everything you need to know…
When is the Mrs Brown’s Boys 2018 Christmas special on TV?
The festive special of Mrs Brown’s Boys will air on Christmas Day (Tuesday 25th December) on BBC1 at 10.15pm. In Northern Ireland it will air at 9.35pm on Saturday 29th December.
As in previous years, a New Year's special will air at 10pm on New Year's Day (Tuesday 1st January 2019).
What’s going to happen in Mrs Brown's Boys?
In June star Brendan O’Carroll teased that Mrs Brown could be set to go to war with technology when someone buys her an Amazon Alexa. Now it seems that storyline has come true, with the BBC revealing that Agnes will be struggling to work out how to use a "wifi assistant" given to her by Dermot and Buster for Christmas.
The Christmas special is called "Exotic Mammy", and sees Mrs Brown enter a Christmas decoration contest organised by Father Damian.
The second 2018 special meanwhile is called "Mammy's Hotel", which sees Agnes put up Winnie and Sharon at her house after their pipes burst.
"It’s not long before there’s a storm brewing in the Brown household too, when Agnes and Cathy discover living with best friends isn’t the picnic they’d imagined," the BBC teases.
Read on for the full plot preview for each episode...
Episode 1: Exotic Mammy
It’s the festive season once again in the Brown household, and Father Damian has organised a Christmas decoration contest to support the local football team. Agnes is keen to enter, especially as it might mean getting one over her old nemesis Hilliary Nicholson. But she is soon distracted, when Dermot and Buster give Agnes a “wifi assistant” and she has trouble figuring out what to do with it. Meanwhile, Cathy is up for a promotion at work and Dino and Rory give Buster a full make-over, so he can look the best for his internet date. It’s bound to go well, as long as she looks like she does in her photo…
Episode 2: Mammy’s Motel
There’s a storm blowing in Finglas and it soon claims its first victim when the pipes in Winnie and Sharon’s house burst. Thank goodness therefore for Mrs Brown who is on hand to offer a roof over their heads while repairs are carried out. However, it’s not long before there’s a storm brewing in the Brown household too, when Agnes and Cathy discover living with best friends isn’t the picnic they’d imagined. And Agnes has yet more on her plate when she receives the news of the death of Nelly Scullie, a neighbour she never knew – or liked – and is asked by Father Damian to do her eulogy. Plus, there’s Bono’s thirteenth birthday to host. It might all seem too much for Agnes, until Buster drops a bombshell…
Will Mrs Brown’s Boys be cancelled after this Christmas special?
In short, no.
O’Carroll has confirmed that the BBC has planned Christmas specials of the hit comedy through to at least 2020.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2015, he explained, “I am lucky enough that I can grow into the part and so that is nice. I have been commissioned to write another two Christmas specials and the BBC are expecting Christmas specials up until 2020.”
However, O’Carroll has also admitted he could “kill off” the show should the BBC believe it is no longer a big enough draw.
“We are booked to do Christmas specials for the BBC until 2020 but if they go, ‘We are going to drop you as we don't think it's strong enough’, then I'd kill Agnes off,” he told the Daily Star this year.
“Our final episode would be the funniest show I've ever written for the first 24 minutes.
"Then the last four minutes would break your f***ing heart."
For those missing their Mrs. Brown fix the titular character will be fronting the third series of popular chat show, All Round To Mrs Brown’s, in 2019.
Mrs Brown’s Boys returns at Christmas on BBC1