Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner appear on television for the first time as a real couple

The Outnumbered parents will appear on TV together for the first time since confirming their relationship in real life, after it was announced that the show is returning for a Christmas special.

Actors Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis confirmed their relationship in 2022 and are still together today.

Outnumbered returns to the BBC for a Christmas special for the first time in eight years.

The popular BBC1 sitcom about the Brockman family aired from 2007 to 2014, with a one-off Christmas special in 2016.

In the new special, which will feature all of the show's previous child actors, as well as Dennis and Skinner, parents Sue and Peter struggle to gather their family together to celebrate a conventional Christmas. The show follows the goings-on in Pete and Sue Brockman's downsized home as they adjust to the difficulties of raising their adult children.

Both BBC iPlayer and BBC1 will broadcast the episode.

The real couple secretly dated for a year before the rumors were confirmed in 2018.

This year, Hugh told Mail on Sunday: “I'm very, very happy. We're so very happy. It's beautiful. And yes, it's so wonderful,” the comedian and actor added of their romance.

A friend of the couple told The Sun that the two only started dating after their marriages ended.

“Their marriages broke up at very similar times, but it took them quite a while to get back together last year.

“They were always very good friends, but they lived their own lives until they were both single.”

The show was known for its partially improvisational nature, and the writers typically gave the child actors last-minute instructions rather than having them memorize entire lines.

Daniel Roche, Ramona Marquez and Tyger Drew-Honey will also make a comeback in the Christmas special.