Outnumbered wasn’t too depressing – it was the perfect goodbye

I felt that the 2024 Christmas special was the realest the hit BBC comedy series has been so far. (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

There’s not much TV everyone in my family can agree to watch together, let alone excitedly sit on the sofa together to catch. 

But when the 2024 Outnumbered Christmas special was announced, we did just that. 

And as a family of five who grew up watching the exploits of the Brockman clan, I felt that the 2024 Christmas special was the realest the hit BBC comedy series has been so far. 

The beloved family show ran for five seasons between 2007 and 2014, returned for a Christmas special in 2016 and has now capped the show off with a controversial finish almost a decade later with the kids all grown up. 

The Brockmans – mum Sue (Claire Skinner), dad Pete (Hugh Dennis), and siblings Karen (Ramona Marquez), Ben (Daniel Roache) and Jake (Tyger-Drew Honey) – have become a staple on British TV for over a decade, and with good reason. 

The fictional household – created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin – hit the nail on the head when it came to encapsulating the chaos of raising a young family against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Britain.

I knew it was only natural that some of the unpredictable, child-like whimsy of past episodes would be gone (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick)

In years past the show has been praised for its unscripted style of humour, outrageously hilarious ad-libbing from the kids and its knack for capturing that quintessential British awkwardness that fuels each ridiculous situation they find themselves in.

But times change, so when they returned in 2024, I knew it was only natural that some of the unpredictable, child-like whimsy of past episodes would be gone. 

I was intrigued to see how the show would tackle this new stage of the Brockman household’s life, especially as there were so many parallels to my own. And especially discover how the humour would translate into adulthood (something we got a small taste of in the 2016 special). 

And for the most part, I think it gave its best go at what seems like an impossible task – making an entire nation feel exactly as giddy and delighted at your characters as they did in 2008. 

Although I didn’t reach quite those heights, in the end, I was left with a fitting satisfaction. 

I was tickled by the gentle humour and just happy to catch up with what felt like old friends I hadn’t seen in a while.

The special (which tragically takes place in a different home to the one we’re used to) sees the kids come home for Christmas a month early, and each member brings their own troubles to the table. 

Jake is now an exhausted dad to a three-year-old trying to navigate issues in his relationship with his partner Rani. Karen is a lesbian who got arrested at a Just Stop Oil protest. And Ben is readying himself for a new adventure, mountain climbing in the Andes. 

All of this is overshadowed, however, by the parents as they prepare to tell the kids that Pete has been diagnosed with treatable prostate cancer. 

Since airing, the episode has been slammed as ‘depressing’, not having ‘one funny moment’ and ‘kind of disappointing’ for various reasons such as the cancer storyline and lack of improvised mayhem. 

The show has historically dealt with ‘dementia, death, homophobia’, to name a few (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

‘I really wanted to enjoy it but what made it so brilliant back in the day was all the chaos and Karen’s non-stop inquisitive questions,’ teen-sil town wrote on X. 

‘People have had a hard year, they want to forget it at Christmas and watch a comedy special and they then turn it into an episode about cancer with no comedy at all, so disappointing,’ Emma reflected. 

But I disagree. Although Pete’s cancer storyline was jarring at first, it felt like a realistic enough scenario and it’s not like the show has shied away from heavy topics in the past.

As listed by the creator himself, Guy, the show has historically dealt with ‘dementia, death, homophobia’, to name a few.

Perhaps the difference this time is that the seriousness was condensed into a 40-minute special rather than a whole season. 

Karen becoming the badass sapphic rebel of the family (Picture: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence)

The scene where Pete and Sue tell the kids, with Ben brokenly facetiming in from a taxi, was well done and had enough jokes and tension-breakers to not turn this comedy into a hard-hitting drama. 

Beyond that, as a family of five all at similar ages to the Brockman’s and with a five-year-old nephew of my own, the dynamics felt familiar.

Whether it was the hyperspecific jokes like Pete still paying for the kid’s mobile phone plans, Karen becoming the badass sapphic rebel of the family or Sue and Pete’s desperate attempts to have the perfect Christmas – there was something for everyone. 

Meanwhile, Jake’s daughter brought a refreshing spark of youthful energy that the episode sorely needed. One of my favourite moments was when Pete was forced to pretend to be a hyena with her, a moment that had my own dad laughing in sympathy.

I was initially disappointed as the episode came to an end (Picture: BBC PICTURE ARCHIVES)

It felt like a brilliant snapshot of a modern-day city-living family whose kids have flown the nest. 

The changes in the show feel accurate: there is a natural silence where there used to be the constant thrum of background noise. The parents now own a home, while the kids are all renting. It’s also the children’s turn to help guide Pete and Sue through 21st-century living. 

And, contrary to the complaints, having conversations about our parents’ health sadly does become a norm as we grow older. In fact, being able to inject humour into such a heavy topic is just what is needed to bring light to what is an increasingly common conversation in adult families.

I know it’s one I have had with my own parents as they reach retirement age. The looming idea of mortality starts to hang over our heads and with all of us out of the house, like other families, we’ve discussed what to do in the face of worst-case scenarios. 

I understand the disillusionment to some extent. I was initially disappointed as the episode came to an end – but quickly realised that I was wishing for something that didn’t exist anymore – it would have been bizarre for Ben to behave like an eight-year-old and Pete and Sue like springy young parents.

I was yearning for the Outnumbered I knew, but none of us are the children we used to be.

It isn’t the same as before, but I think that was entirely the point. As always, Outnumbered held up a mirror to society and it’s not the show’s fault if people don’t like what they see. 

As the episode came to an end and we switched off the TV to the silence of our living room, I couldn’t help but smile. The Brockmans, they get it. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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