<P> Talking to BBC News, Mack gave an outline of the special; it follows on from the marriage of Lucy and Lee in "The Wedding", the most recent episode, and involved a gun . Mack also announced that the special would not be filmed before a studio audience, unlike past episodes, and that he had written its first scenes . </P> <P> The Christmas special aired on 24 December 2015, where the regular cast were involved in an armed robbery in a department store . Frank was working as an elf in the Christmas department, when Lee, Lucy and Daisy were with Toby and Anna who had sent their son away over Christmas . The two security guards were attacked by the armed robber who locked them all in the security room and Lee had a showdown with the armed robber, the episode ended with Lucy giving birth to the couple's first child . </P> <P> On 24 August 2016, it was confirmed that there would be an eighth series in 2017 . It is set seven years after the events of the 2015 Christmas special and shows how Lee and Lucy cope being parents to three young children . The series began airing on 13 January 2017, and ended on 3 March 2017 . </P> <P> Not Going Out reached its highest ever audience in the opening episode, with a total of 5.52 million viewers . </P>

Who played lucy's mother in not going out