What occurred to the Outnumbered solid? How the kid stars turned their again on fame and weathered a string of scandals whereas on-screen companions Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner grew to become an merchandise in actual life – as followers are left ‘upset’ by comedy’s return

Outnumbered made its long-awaited return to screens with a one-off special on Thursday, offering fans a glimpse at the famous Brockman family, 10 years after the original series ended.

All of the stars of the beloved BBC comedy returned for the episode, including Hugh Dennis as dad Pete, Claire Skinner as mum Sue, Tyger Drew-Honey as eldest son Jake, Daniel Roche as the middle child Ben, and Ramona Marquez as the daughter, Karen.

However, the special landed a lacklustre reaction from viewers, who were quick to brand it ‘disappointing’ and ‘forced.’

In the latest instalment, Dad Pete, revealed to his children Jake, Ben and Karen that he was battling prostate cancer.

But Pete and Sue (Claire Skinner) were also battling a friend who had overstayed her welcome – by nine weeks, irritating neighbours and an attempt to make a Christmas dinner in November. 

The chaotic Brockman action was set against the backdrop of Jake’s new family including a partner and little girl, Ben’s attempts to explore the world and Karen being fired from her third job after a messy break-up with her girlfriend. 

When the show first began in 2007, Ramona was just six years old, Daniel was seven and Tyger was 11. Now, the 2024 Christmas special will explore the new dynamic of  grappling with parenting kids who are now adults, with their own lives to lead. 

So what happened to the children in the years that followed? From retreating from the spotlight to a drugs controversy and delving into the porn industry, their paths have been varied…

And as for the on-screen parents, how did their rocky on-screen romance translate into real love away from the cameras? 

Ramona Marquez, 23

Ramona Marquez lit up the small screen as the assertive, intelligent and sassy Karen Brockman in Outnumbered.

The little girl who had an answer for everything and often saw her parents tying themselves in knots as they went toe-to-toe with her wooed audiences with her cherub-like looks.

With an adorable smile and blonde ringlet curls in her hair, little Ramona stole the show on the BBC sitcom as she delivered hilarious punchlines without blinking.

The series ended with her attending secondary school and being somewhat put in her place by her headteacher, who had little time for her quirks.

Since the show ended, Ramona has grown into a young woman and even has a university degree after studying Spanish and Mandarin at the University of Manchester in 2019 – where she was not a member of the drama society on campus.

She has a sharp sense of style and often sports coloured, winged eyeliner to match her grunge-inspired outfits. 

Ramona also has several intricately-designed tattoos on her arm which she has showed off on her Instagram account.

Now sporting straight-styled brunette locks and a fringe, Ramona enjoys visiting art exhibitions and pubs – and recently took a trip to Kew Gardens.

Although Ramona doesn’t appear to act much these days, she still enjoys the arts and takes trips to the theatre with her pals while in London. 

In 2020, Ramona ranted at ‘heteronormativity’ in a feminist volume where she announced that she is bisexual. 

She also recently revealed that she and the Outnumbered cast try and reunite ‘once a year’ since they starred on the original show together. 

Daniel Roche, 24

Daniel Roche played the eccentric, excitable and ever-so-slightly mad middle child of the Brockman family, Ben.

A kind boy at heart, he drove his parents to distraction with games and ‘science’ experiments that involved sucking up ridiculous objects with the vacuum cleaner and microwaving insects.

Throughout the series, Bens antics at school often resulted in his parents being called in over incidents such as tying a female classmate to the climbing frame by her plaits and informing the school inspector that he had learnt to wee on his own that day – by demonstrating it there and then.

But since the show ended, Daniel has led a quieter life off-screen, and is now a budding rugby star who is travelling the world with his friends.

He currently plays for UCS RFC and often posts photos on Instagram of himself storming across the pitch.

Daniel previously shared photos on his Instagram account from his travels with pals in Thailand, where they explored the Golden Triangle, where the country meets with Myanmar and Laos.

In the post, which contained several snaps, the last photo showed Daniel carrying five sealed bags, one of which contained a dark green substance. 

Another of the mystery bags was marked ‘OG kush’, while a camouflage shoulder bag sits next to Roche.

He posted the Instagram photos with the caption ‘No case in the Golden Triangle.’

One friend replied with a number of what appear to be smoke emojis.

Thailand legalised medical cannabis in 2018 but smoking the drug can still be a cause for a penalty or prison sentence due to public nuisance laws. However, there was no indication the star consumed any drugs.

Tyger Drew-Honey, 28

Tyger Drew-Honey played the anxious, thoughtful oldest Brockman sibling Jake throughout the five series of the sitcom.

The pilot episode showed him fretting about his first day of secondary school while he examined his stationery and told his parents he didn’t have a transparent ruler which he thought might get him in trouble.

As the series progressed and the children reached adolescence, viewers saw Jake battle with issues that plague teenage boys, including his first forays into the world of love and relationships.

By the end of the five series, Jake was in his final year of school and looking into options for university or taking a gap year – and he even got a cheeky tattoo that he managed to hide from his parents.

Since the series ended, Tyger has remained involved in performing arts and most recently starred as Prince Charming in a pantomime production of Cinderella at the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole, Dorset in Christmas 2022. 

The actor, whose parents are prominent stars in the porn industry,  has also fronted two BBC Three documentaries about sex – the first about the porn industry in which he interviewed his mother and father, and the second about virtual reality in sex.

Describing the 2014 documentary, called Eye of the Tyger, he said: ‘It’s a young person’s Louis Theroux, where I look at issues that affect young people, such as body image, pornography and dating.

‘They are serious issues and they are things that I think I am curious about and interested in.’ 

Two years later Tyger presented The Virtual Reality Virgin, which explored the rise in popularity of sex robots.

At the time, he revealed to the Mirror that he actually tried out having sex with a robot for the show.

‘Despite my best efforts I did not manage to get anywhere near the finish line,’ he told the newspaper. 

He added ‘I think I’ll stick to humans for now, robot sex is a long way off. And hey, what if you just want a cuddle?’

In 2022, Tyger joined forces with Jo O’Meara and Anne Hegerty to mark the 40th anniversary of the Michael Jackson’s Thriller and raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital with a new rendition of the title track.

While promoting the new Outnumbered Special, Tyger confessed that he had sometimes found it hard to live a normal life and act like a regular teenager, after rising to fame as a child star on the show.

He revealed: ‘I found it difficult at times – and I wasn’t a crazy teenager – but wanting to have a drink at 17.

‘And you couldn’t do that in public – people would take photos, but overall it was positive. But people taking pictures when I didn’t want them to was, yeah…’

Tyger added that he still gets recognised and during the height of the show’s fame that could happen quite often. 

And while he’s appreciative of the support now, he sometimes found it all too much.

‘I get recognised sometimes, but less frequently now,’ he said. ‘I do appreciate it when it happens, but back in the day it was a lot.’

Hugh Dennis, 62, and Claire Skinner, 59

Both Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner had been in the acting industry for years before Outnumbered proved to be their big break. 

Hugh was best known then for appearing as a panellist in every episode of the comedy show Mock the Week. 

While Claire had starred as a series regular in ITV series, Life Begins. 

When the pair signed on for Outnumbered they were both married, but by the time the Outnumbered Christmas special aired in 2016 they were both single and romance blossomed. 

With the series relying heavily on improvisation rather than a rigid script, it was evident there was a natural chemistry between the two actors. 

Dennis’s marriage had folded first, in 2015, around a year after the end of series five. He and Kate Abbot-Anderson have two grown up children.

Then, in early 2016, Claire and husband Charles Palmer, a TV director who is the son of Butterflies actor Geoffrey, also parted ways. They have two boys.

Hugh confirmed his romance with Claire to the Mail in 2018, saying: ‘I am very, very happy, we are so very happy. It’s nice and yes, it’s so lovely.’ 

In 2019, Claire broke her silence on her relationship with Hugh, calling their romance a ‘lovely little life surprise’.

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Claire said of their romance: ‘We are (together). It’s a lovely little life surprise, isn’t it? It’s a lovely thing.’

The Mail on Sunday previously reported that Hugh and Claire live together in the £1.2million London penthouse flat Hugh bought following his split from his second wife, Kate Abbot-Anderson, in 2015.

After Outnumbered ended Hugh landed himself a role in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s smash hit Fleabag and presents The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden. 

Meanwhile, Claire has continued to book TV gigs and played Sheila in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, which ran in Trafalgar Studios in the West End in 2019.