<P> The show was cancelled by the BBC in 2009, whilst the third series was still airing, but the decision was later reversed due to a combination of strong DVD sales and an online petition . This led to the show receiving a renewal for a fourth series which aired from 6 January 2011 . A fifth series began airing on 13 April 2012 and ended on 18 May 2012 . A sixth series began airing on 5 April 2013 and ended on 31 May 2013, with a Christmas special following later that year . </P> <P> A seventh series comprising ten episodes began airing on 17 October 2014 and ended with a Christmas special on 24 December . A further Christmas special, which was shot at West London Film Studios, was aired on 24 December 2015 . On 24 August 2016, it was confirmed that Not Going Out would return for an eighth series, which began airing on 13 January 2017 and ended on 3 March 2017 . On 14 November 2017, it was confirmed that a Christmas Special will air in 2017 . On 4 December 2017, it was confirmed that the Christmas Special will air on 24 December 2017 . </P> <P> On 14 December 2016, it was announced that the show had been re-commissioned for a ninth and tenth series . Series 9 began on 8 March 2018 . </P> <P> The series focuses on Lee Mack, who plays a fictional version of himself: an unambitious man in his late thirties living as a lodger in a flat in London Docklands . Originally from Chorley, Lancashire (which is approximately 20 miles from Southport, from which Lee Mack originates in real life), Lee is a negligent, unmotivated layabout . Frequently between jobs, he spends most of his days on his sofa watching television or down at the local pub with his best friend, Tim Adams (Tim Vine), an accountant who owns the flat in which Lee is a lodger . He is also noted for his cheeky wit and for having a very troubled relationship with his father, with whom he shares many traits and who openly mentions that Lee was unplanned and resulted in the end of his marriage . </P>

When does not going out series 9 start