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Little Britain has been removed from BBC iPlayer and Netflix because of blackface and people are very divided

Little Britain has been removed from BBC iPlayer and Netflix because of blackface and people are very divided
Getty / BBC

If you’re looking to rewatch old episodes of “Little Britain”, you’ll now have to look a little harder as BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Britbox have all removed the show due to its use of blackface.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed the news on Tuesday:

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.

While BritBox stated:

Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox. Come Fly With Me has not been available on the service for six months.

Netflix is yet to publicly comment, but denied a rumoured reboot of the series is underway.

Since the announcements, many wondered how it took so long to be taken down, as the show has a long history of skits featuring blackface or mocking transgender people.

In fact, one of the show’s creators and stars, Matt Lucas, said in an interview in 2017:

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.

Nevertheless, some people were absolutely fuming that the BBC was enacting a “terrifying assault on our history and our minds”, in the words of one certain conservative commentator.

Some people were shocked by the decision...

But many were unsurprised.

While others were angry.

Though many, many people thought it was the right call...

Matt Lucas or David Walliams are yet to publicly comment on their show being taken off these streaming platforms. If they do, we'll let you know.

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