Why the BBC can’t kill off Mrs Brown’s Boys: Comedy chief finally appears to admit show isn’t funny, but commissions MORE episodes because ‘millions still watch it’

It was a easy query for the BBC’s director of comedy: did he discover any of the sitcoms he watched humorous?

However John Petrie's silence when requested concerning the BBC's flagship programme Mrs Brown's Boys in a Q&A session earlier this week highlights a much bigger query: who does Do you actually like this present, and why does it divide TV audiences greater than anything?

The comedy present, which has been on air since 2011, is repeatedly criticised as 'bizarre', 'predictable' and 'vulgar', but it nonetheless attracts thousands and thousands of viewers and has remained a BBC mainstay for over a decade.

Commenting on the controversy at a Q&A session held for the BBC Comedy Showcase at Soho Home on Tuesday, a viewer informed Petrie: 'Could I ask, as Head of Comedy, do you really discover Mrs Brown's Boys humorous? And would you watch it if you happen to didn't need to?'

The TV government laughed awkwardly, after which the host, comedy author Michelle de Swarte, intervened and mentioned: 'It's a lure. It's a lure. Have a look at me. It's a lure. Subsequent query.'

It's actually not onerous to search out individuals who hate Mrs Brown's Boys, as scathing feedback have been made on X when the movie returned to our screens final 12 months.

One person wrote: “Right now is a tragic day for mankind, new season of Mrs Brown's Boys begins tonight.”

One other mentioned: 'The entire nation doesn't like Mrs Brown's Boys in any respect. I feel it's garbage and never humorous in any respect.'

Skilled critics have been much more scathing, criticising the present for its 'clichéd sitcom model' and 'weak jokes'.

Following his awkward look on the Q&A session on Tuesday, Petrie launched a press release the next day praising the present's author and star Brendan O'Carroll for 'creating such an iconic comedy character' who 'made me snigger so many occasions'.

He added: 'Seeing Mrs Brown's Boys dwell is an unforgettable expertise. I really feel very fortunate to have had the possibility to see it and I'm proud that it has been included in BBC Comedy.'

However the injury had been finished, and suspicions arose that the person in command of the BBC's comedy output didn't just like the present both.

It will come as no shock to its many critics, one in every of whom as soon as declared on social media: 'I can't discover a single one who doesn't suppose Mrs Brown's Boys is the most important piece of garbage ever.'

But, the reality is that many individuals just do that.

The present reached its peak degree of 11 million viewers in 2012 and 2013, then turned probably the most watched present on TV on Christmas Day in 2017 with 6.8 million viewers.

Viewing numbers might have dropped to 4 million final Christmas, however it stays undoubtedly one of many BBC's largest comedy hits, having graced (or stormed) screens for over a decade now.

O'Carroll has vowed to make extra Christmas specials, telling the Each day Star: 'So long as the BBC retains asking, we'll maintain making episodes.'

And he hit again at critics of the earlier festive programme, saying the present nonetheless has thousands and thousands of loyal followers – and has additionally been praised by mother and father of kids with autism.

He informed BBC Sounds: 'Initially, I'm effectively conscious that comedy could be very subjective. What some folks like, different folks hate. So I don't take it too severely.

'Once we began… by the fourth or fifth episode, we received a number of letters from folks whose youngsters have been autistic.

'It began with a number of letters and now it's over 3,000. And she or he mentioned her youngsters noticed Mrs Brown and heard her snigger for the primary time in that context.

'One lady mentioned she was within the kitchen and she or he heard her son snigger for the primary time. So while you get a letter like that I don't care what the critics say. It doesn't matter to me.'

Followers of Mrs Brown and her chaotic family would agree, and on-line feedback recommend it’s seen as light-hearted leisure in severe occasions.

One X person wrote: 'Say what you need about Mrs Brown's Boys however all of us want some mild hearted, typically foolish comedy. It put a smile on our faces tonight!'

Others referred to as it “hysterical” and accused critics of being “conceited.”

So it's clear that regardless of the rising variety of haters, 'Mrs Brown's Boys' goes to proceed for some time but.

However what do you consider the present? Share your ideas within the feedback under…