By Little Britain pulled from iPlayer and Netflix over controversy
Little Britain has been pulled from iPlayer and Netflix over controversy caused by some of the shows characters.
Netflix pulled the Matt Lucas and David Walliams series on Friday, along with their other comedy Come Fly With Me.
Subsequently, the BBC and Britbox also removed Little Britain on Monday.
Both outlets said “times have changed” since it first aired.
Netflix has declined to comment on the reasons behind their removal of the show.
Little Britain includes scenes where Lucas and Walliams portray characters from different ethnic backgrounds.
A BBC spokesperson said:
“There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.
“Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.”
The removal has angered some fans.
One viewer said that people should be able to make their “own choices”.
But others have expressed unease about watching sketches which featured the comedians wearing make up to portray different races.
In 2017, Lucas said: “If I could go back and do Little Britain again, I wouldn’t make those jokes about transvestites. I wouldn’t play black characters.
“Basically, I wouldn’t make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I’d do now.”
Walliams agreed that he would “definitely do it differently” in today’s cultural landscape.
Little Britain first aired in 2003 and ran for four series until 2008.
There have also been a handful of specials, including a sketch on the BBC One coronavirus charity fundraiser The Big Night In this April.
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