Mrs Brown's Boys back with bang for the highly anticipated Christmas special which took cues from the 1940s classic It's a Wonderful Life

In this year's annual special Brendan O'Carroll's Agnes Brown got a glimpse at what life would be like if she never existed

Mrs Brown's Boys was back with a bang last night for the highly anticipated Christmas special which took cues from the 1940s classic It's a Wonderful Life.

In this year's annual special Brendan O'Carroll's Agnes Brown got a glimpse at what life would be like if she never existed just like the Jimmy Steward led film.

She was even visited by an angel hoping to earn his wings - but there was twist to the classic tale.

The show delivered on the laughs as Mrs Brown encountered her family and neighbours, all of whom had no recollection of who she was.

During the course of the episode Agnes learned that many of her family and close friends were actually much better off without her in their lives.

Agnes endured a shock when she learned her arch-enemy Hillary is the new head of the household while all her children now had noticeable more exotic names living very different things.

Thankfully Agnes was relieved to find out the whole thing was a joke staged by her family, to help her see what life would be like without them.

While the show was met with some criticism fans were thrilled to see the return of the "hilarious" special this year.

One wrote: "Mrs Browns Boys does ‘Its a Wonderful Life’. Can Christmas Day get even better?"

Another said: "Another great #MrsBrownsBoys Christmas special, hilarious as ever" while a third person added: "Fantastic episode and absolutely hilarious once again".

A fourth person said: "Another Christmas Day & another brilliant @MrsBrownsBoys episode"

O'Carroll earlier hit out at critics of the popular comedy series bluntly telling nay sayers to “Just change the f***ing channel!"

He told The Sun: “The evidence of four NTA awards means people are not just liking it — they’re actually prepared to stand up and shout it.

“Radio Times named us ‘Sitcom of the Century’ - we can only hope nothing good happens in the next eight decades to upset that.”

The popular Dublin-centric show will return to RTE One and BBC One next Tuesday for their annual New Year's Eve special.