BBC posts apology to Mrs Brown’s Boys fans after more than 100 complaints about sitcom being dropped

THE BBC has posted an apology to Mrs Brown’s Boys fans after receiving more than 100 complaints about the sitcom being dropped.

An episode of the hit Brendan O’Carroll sitcom was supposed to air on Satruday, January 9 but was ditched last minute after Arsenal and Newcastle’s FA Cup match went to extra time.

The show was due to air at 9.30pm that evening, but the extended football coverage meant the whole schedule was pushed back by half an hour.

Casualty was forced to start later, as was Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, and to regulate the schedule, Mrs Brown’s Boys ended up being dropped.

However, more than 100 fans were left so unimpressed by the move they decided to complain to the BBC, which has now issued an apology.

In a statement on its website, the BBC wrote: “As a live event, the match went into extra time and as a result there was inevitable disruption to the evening schedule.

“As viewers may appreciate, we were obliged to broadcast the match until it had ended.

“We do however recognise the disappointment caused that Casualty and The Wheel were moved later in the schedule and that Mrs Brown’s Boys was dropped.”

Mrs Brown’s Boys released two new episodes over Christmas and New Year, although it was the first without co-stars Gary Hollywood and Damien McKiernan, who played Dino and Rory.

The pair left the show last year, much to fans disappointment, but they were soon perked up by the news that the show has been recommissioned for another five years of specials.

Brendan told The Irish Sun: “It’s incredible that the BBC have nailed down such a special slot for Mrs Brown.

“We’ve been doing it for nine years already – which is six more than the Royle Family had and more than Morecambe and Wise.”

“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.”