• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Little Britain Removes Controversial David Walliams Character

Home> Entertainment

Updated 12:19 16 Mar 2022 GMTPublished 12:17 16 Mar 2022 GMT

Little Britain Removes Controversial David Walliams Character

The show is back on BBC iPlayer after it was removed from several streaming services in 2020 amid controversy surrounding some sketches

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A character on Little Britain has been edited out of the programme after it returned to BBC iPlayer, with the broadcaster confirming that ‘edits’ have been made to the show. 

Entertainment journalist Scott Bryan tweeted earlier this morning (Wednesday 16 March) to say that Little Britain was back on iPlayer, after it was removed from several streaming services in 2020 amid controversy surrounding some of the sketches. 

Now the show is back online, but not without a major change, as Desiree DeVere – a character that saw David Wallliams don a fat suit and blackface – appears to have been edited out. 

BBC

Advert

Bryan tweeted: “In case you were wondering… Desiree DeVere appears to have been edited out of Little Britain. Characters such as Emily Howard, Vicky Pollard, Andy and Anne remain.” 

Someone else replied: “They definitely have. No Desiree DeVere in series three, that's for sure.” 

Another said that one episode in the third series originally ran for 28 minutes, but now shows a runtime of just 23 minutes on iPlayer.

The BBC has confirmed that the series has been edited to reflect cultural changes since it was made. 

A 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.” 

Advert

Underneath some of the episodes, a warning also appears that says: “Contains discriminatory language.” 

The noughties sketch show has attracted some criticism in recent years over the way it depicted ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, as well as for how it dealt with issues of gender and sexuality.

As a result, it was removed from iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox back in 2020, with the BBC saying in a statement at the time: "There's a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.

BBC iPlayer

"Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer."

Advert

A spokesperson for BritBox said: "Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox."

A spokesperson for Netflix said the company had 'no comment', but confirmed the show had been removed.

David Walliams and Matt Lucas - the two comedians behind the series - went on to issue an apology, each saying in a statement released on Twitter: "David and I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races. Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry."

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: TV and Film

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
12 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Sophie Turner explains why it was 'vile' to kiss 'brother' Kit Harington in new gothic horror film

    The actors did spend close to a decade playing fictional siblings

    Entertainment
  • 12 hours ago

    Home Alone director reveals why he'd never reboot the iconic movies

    Chris Columbus said he believes the franchise 'should be left alone'

    Entertainment
  • 12 hours ago

    Amy Bradley family break silence on $200,000 scammer left out of Netflix doc

    This comes amid Amy's family revealing there had been a 'verified sighting' of Amy alive

    Entertainment
  • 13 hours ago

    100% rated Netflix series with 'best cliffhanger ever’ has fans demanding it's brought back

    The show stars Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore

    Entertainment
  • Matt Lucas issues apology to Millie Bobby Brown after comparing Stranger Things star to Little Britain character
  • Benedict Cumberbatch says he’ll never play controversial character again that he had to ‘apologise a lot for’
  • David Walliams shocks fans by showing ‘most controversial sketch he’s ever done’ with Matt Lucas
  • The world’s most controversial films revealed in eye-opening Letterboxd list of banned movies