Well Mrs Brown's Boys was the most watched show on Xmas. 1 in 3 people watching telly, watched it. I have never watched more than a minute of it, and didn't know of anyone who has watched it. I asked around and finally one of my friends admitted to having seen an episode.
"As part of an Irish family, I have indeed watched Mrs Brown's boys. We were all made to sit down and watch the Christmas special a few years ago. I think it's actually only A's sister who likes it and everyone else hates it. I have to say though that a lot of it is very true to Irish life - especially the way people walk randomly into each others houses, talk a load of shite and then leave. Some of A's family's friends could literally be in a Mrs Brown's boys script.
I can confirm that we both loathe it. I had no idea it was so popular over here, particularly as nobody in Britain would understand half the jokes."
However this still doesn't explain why it's popular.