When BBC bosses announced in March that they were axing popular BBC One sitcom Not Going Out, the news came as quite a shock to comedy fans, and many in the industry too. Lee Mack's comedy was one of the few modern mainstream live-audience sitcoms that was considered a hit, and thus it was a puzzle why the BBC were stopping a show that was attracting a growing fan base and had just achieved its highest ever ratings.

Co-writer Andrew Collins was equally puzzled, writing on his blog at the time: "Who understands TV controllers? Not me. It all comes down to numbers in the end, even though the BBC is a publicly funded broadcaster and thus not reliant on advertising revenue and thus not really in the ratings game to the degree where, like American broadcasters, it cancels shows that aren't performing to a set of made-up targets. But that's what's happened, despite the ratings gradually going up, show by show, and series by series."

However, as discussed on our forums, rumours have been circling for a number of months now that the BBC were about to reverse their decision, and now Lee Mack has confirmed live on stage that Not Going Out is indeed returning after all. This announcement drew a large cheer from the audience in Canterbury watching his stand-up show at the Gulbenkian Theatre.

It would appear that Cheryl Taylor, the BBC's new controller of comedy commissioning, has realised the mistake of her predecessors and ordered the fourth series. As with the previous three, it will be produced by Avalon. However, some reports suggest that the new series, which is likely to be broadcast in Winter 2010, will see Not Going Out moved to a mid-week 10:35pm timeslot, rather than the prime-time Friday one that it has previously enjoyed.

Not Going Out is a fast-paced, gag-orientated sitcom vehicle for Lee Mack and Tim Vine. It's based around the life of Lee, a man un-burdened by ambition or drive. He fancies his flatmate Lucy (Sally Bretton), but can't quite bring himself to tell her how he feels. Their potential relationship is additionally complicated by the fact that Lee's uptight best mate is Lucy's brother. The show also features Miranda Hart, whose own BBC Two sitcom was also re-commissioned today, in the role of a clumsy cleaner.

A Christmas special of Not Going Out, which guest stars Bobby Ball as Lee's dad, will be shown next week. This episode was filmed alongside Series 3 in late 2008, but the BBC has not broadcast it until now. It will be shown on BBC One on Wednesday 23rd December 2009. Episode Details