All round to Mrs. Brown’s for Christmas.

If there’s been a TV show as divisive as Mrs. Brown’s Boys since the turn of the millennium, then we haven’t heard of it. It’s famously not to everyone’s tastes, but then again, it regularly tops the most-watched lists in Ireland and the UK. 574,000 people tuned in to watch Mrs’ Brown’s Boys – A Wonderful Mammy on RTÉ last Christmas day, the ninth year in a row the Brendan O’Carroll creation attracted more viewers than any other show in Ireland on Christmas Day. Those figures – and the BBC numbers are equally if not even more impressive – prove that quite a lot of people enjoy possibly the show and if you belong in that camp, then we’ve got good news about the upcoming festive TV schedule. BBC has announced some of the highlights of its Christmas programme and taking centre stage yet again is Mrs. Brown’s Boys with a brand new Christmas special. And a two-parter at that. In part one, titled Mammy of the People, Agnes and her family are trying to get used to “the new normal”. Mrs Brown has a new tree, Grandad has a new complaint and Buster and Dermot have new jobs, helping to raise awareness of the coronavirus. Winnie and Agnes have also entered a competition in the Radio Times to perform an alternative Queen’s speech and are waiting to hear if they’ve won, while the Browns have been told to look out for a flasher called the Knickie Knackie Dickie, who has been terrorising households around Finglas. In Part Two, Mammy’s Memories, the family try to come to terms with life after lockdown. Priorities are soon put in focus when Winnie’s house is burgled and her mother’s much-loved wedding ring has been stolen, and Buster and Danny go in search of the perpetrator. The Mrs. Brown’s Boys is one of a number of highlights of the BBC’s festive programme, which also includes Christmas specials from Dr Who and The Vicar of Dibley and the finale of the second season of His Dark Materials. More details on the BBC Christmas line-up can be found here.