Sitcom Outnumbered to return for Christmas special

BBC sitcom Outnumbered is to return for a Christmas special, the corporation has announced.

All of the original cast members will return, including Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner, alongside all the show's former child actors.

It will be set in the downsized home of Pete and Sue Brockman, as they grapple with the challenges of parenting kids who are now grown adults.

Dennis said he "can’t wait for the Brockmans to be back together again".

The show's creators, Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, will return to write and direct the special.

The BBC said the episode would see Sue and Pete gather all their children, and one grandchild, together for a traditional family Christmas.

However, fate, neighbours, hyenas and bus replacement services are among the obstacles that will get in their way.

Hamilton said the series would show the Brockman family "older, but not necessarily wiser".

Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez will reprise their roles as the couple's now-fully-grown children.

In a statement, Dennis said: "Pete and Sue have downsized, the children are no longer children, but I’m sure family life will prove to be just as chaotic as ever."

Skinner added: "I’m really looking forward to being reunited with my TV family. Working on this wonderful BBC comedy doesn’t feel like work and is one of the greatest joys for us all."

As well as being married on screen, Dennis and Skinner confirmed their real-life relationship in 2018.

Semi-improvised scenes

Outnumbered ran for five series between 2007 to 2014.

The team reunited for a Christmas special in 2016, but there have not been any further episodes since then.

While the sitcom was scripted, many scenes featuring the children were famously semi-improvised.

The announcement of the new special was one of several commissions announced by the BBC at the comedy festival in Glasgow on Thursday.

It also announced new seasons of Not Going Out, Mammoth and The Power of Parker, as well as new shows Funboys, about three emotionally-unassembled young men in Northern Ireland, and the Middlesbrough-set LGBT comedy Smoggie Queens.