Outnumbered loses half its viewers after fans slammed depressing special but show bosses defend it

Outnumbered lost half its viewers after fans slammed the 'depressing' Christmas special. Creator Guy Jenkin explained how he hoped the Christmas special would remove the sigma around cancer and 'show how normal it is.' Outnumbered lost half its viewers after fans slammed the 'depressing' Christmas special After a five-year hiatus the Brockman family reunited once more for another festive special but this time under sad circumstances - which show bosses have defended He added: 'We dealt with that through how parents explain it to their children and this is the same except that the children are considerably larger. Viewers took to social media to brand the Christmas special disappointing and questioned the decision to give Pete cancer. This years episode got 3.6 million overnight viewers with a peak of 3.9million, while the 2016 special had 6.87 million In the latest instalment, Dad Pete, played by Hugh Dennis, revealed to his children Jake, Ben and Karen that he was battling prostate cancer Creator Guy Jenkin explained how he hoped the Christmas special would remove the sigma around cancer and 'show how normal it is' Viewers previously took to social media to brand the Christmas special disappointing and questioned the decision to give Pete cancer But fans found the whole issue too upsetting and many were outraged and said it ruined the show and some fans even found the watching the festive special too upsetting.