THE BBC’s hit sitcom Outnumbered lost half its audience when it returned after a five-year hiatus.
The ratings dip came just a day after record-breaking viewing figures of 12.5million for Gavin and Stacey: The Finale on Christmas Day.
Outnumbered attracted 3.6million in comparison to 6.9million for its Christmas special back in 2016.
It aired the day after Gavin and Stacey‘s last ever episode – and left fans disappointed.
Pete, played by comedian Hugh Dennis, was left to break the news to his three children that he was suffering from prostate cancer.
While the upsetting scenes left fans devastated, some also slammed the special and Ramona Marquez, Daniel Roche and Tyger Drew-Honey’s acting.
Outnumbered’s Boxing Day special was the first time it had been back on the BBC since 2016.
As Pete struggled to find the right time to tell his children, the news came tumbling out with Jake and Karen sat on the sofa and Ben via FaceTime with a very dodgy connection.
With Ben on the line, Karen said: “Mum and Dad have something they need to tell us.”
Ben quipped back: “Are they going to stop paying for our mobile phones?”
As Pete brushed off the comment, he went on to confess: “So the good news is that they’ve caught it early and I’m very likely to be fine But I’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer.”
In typical Outnumbered-style, Ben was left causing chaos in the moment when he admitted that the line had cut off after “so”.
Ben said: “Sorry I missed that, you broke up after so!”
As Pete said he had cancer a number of times, either Ben’s connection broke-up or the nightmare neighbours from next door were left causing a whole lot of noise.
Christmas Day was a big success for the BBC, with the return of Wallace & Gromit after 14 years bringing in 10m for Vengeance Most Fowl.
EastEnders got an astonishing 8.7m watching Cindy Beale clobbered with a shovel and left for dead.
The huge bounce came as a result of being aired after Gavin and Stacey.
Just 2.8m tuned in to watch Gail Platt’s goodbye on Coronation Street.
Meanwhile some 5.1m watched The King’s Speech, and 6.9m sat down for the Call The Midwife Christmas Special.
