Mrs Brown gets decent ratings

BBC One’s new sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys got off to a reasonable start last night, winning 2.6 million viewers to BBC One.

The figure – representing one in six of all viewers at the time – is a shade over the average audience for that 10.35pm slot.

The show, starring Brendan O’Carroll as a domineering Irish mother, has already aired on Ireland’s RTÉ1 last month, when it won its timeslot.

Last night also saw the final installment of BBC Two’s Matt LeBlanc sitcom Episodes, which finished on 1.1million viewers, below par for the slot. The series started seven weeks ago with 1.86 million, and the average over the series was 1.3million.

Critics largely warmed to the show as it went on, and last night’s finale left the door open for another series, although nothing has yet been announced.

Published: 22 Feb 2011