BBC removes Little Britain from iPlayer following blackface backlash

Little Britain has been removed from some streaming services. Photo / Supplied

Little Britain has been removed from the iPlayer following backlash over its use of blackface over its portrayal of black women by white men.

The public service broadcaster said "times have changed" since the sketch show starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams first aired in 2003.

Racial equality campaigners have complained about Walliams sporting black make-up and a large afro wig to play the overweight black woman Desiree DeVere and Lucas who also used blackface to play Pastor Jesse King, who said he was "from the ghetto" and spoke in tongues to cure the sick.

A BBC spokesman 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."

A BritBox spokeswoman also confirmed the show has been removed from that platform too.

David Walliams as 'Desiree DeVere' for Little Britain. Photo / BBC

Last week, Netflix also removed the show, as well as Walliams and Lucas' other series Come Fly With Me.

In that show Lucas wore dark make-up to play Jamaican woman Precious and ground crew employee Taaj, who was of Pakistani descent.

Lucas has since said he has regrets about Little Britain, describing the comedy as "cruel".

He told The Big Issue: "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.

"Society has moved on a lot since then and my own views have evolved. There was no bad intent there - the only thing you could accuse us of was greed. We just wanted to show off about what a diverse bunch of people we could play.

"Now I think it's lazy for white people to get a laugh just by playing black characters. My aim is to entertain, I don't have any other agenda."

Last week comedian Leigh Francis issued a tearful apology for portraying black celebrities on sketch show Bo' Selecta.

The comic played stars including king of pop Michael Jackson, singer Craig David and talkshow host Trisha Goddard on the show, which first aired in 2002.