Little Britain returns to iPlayer with blackface characters edited out

Sketch show was originally removed from BBC iPlayer in 2020 but an updated version has been added

Little Britain has returned to BBC iPlayer but with sketches featuring David Walliams in blackface edited out.

The sketch show returned to the streaming service today (16 March) after originally being removed in 2020 partly due to criticism of the show’s use of blackface.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Little Britain has been made available to fans on BBC iPlayer following edits made to the series by Matt and David that better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last twenty years since the show was first made.”

The most notable change is that all sketches featuring Desiree DeVere have been removed. DeVere was played by Walliams in a fat suit and complete blackface and the show as a whole has been criticised for its attitudes towards race.

An episode that features Matt Lucas in blackface as Reverend Jesse King has also been edited to remove the sketch. It was the only time the character appeared in the show.

At the moment, characters such as Vicky Pollard, Andy and Lou and Bubbles are still included in the re-edited show.

There is also a disclaimer that appears before some episodes that reads “contains discriminatory language”.

When Little Britain was originally removed from iPlayer and other streaming services such as BritBox, series creators Walliams and Lucas said they were “very sorry” for appearing in blackface.

Before the show was removed, they had both expressed regret about some of their material. In a 2017 interview 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.”

Walliams and Lucas were also criticised for appearing in blackface in their other BBC show, Come Fly With Me.