David Walliams And Matt Lucas Apologise For Using Blackface In Little Britain

David Walliams and Matt Lucas have both apologised for their use of blackface in Little Britain, with both comedians posting on Twitter.

The tweets, which are almost identical, come after Little Britain was removed from many streaming services, including BBC iPlayer, Netflix, NOW TV and Britbox.

Walliams tweeted: "Matt & 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 & we are very sorry."

Little Britain, a comedy sketch show which aired on the BBC for three seasons, between 2003 and 2005 has long been criticised for the way it portrayed different characters, including Black and Asian people, as well as gay and disabled characters.

It includes a Caribbean woman called Desiree, who was played by Walliams in blackface, as well as a mail-order bride called Ting Tong.

The BBC also removed the pair's other series Come Fly With Me, saying that 'times have changed' and that the shows are no longer appropriate.

BBC

Bo' Selecta! has also been removed from All 4 after comedian Leigh Francis issued a heartfelt apology for the use of blackface on the show.

Francis, who plays character Keith Lemon, played a number of black celebrities on the show, which ran between 2002 and 2009 on Channel 4, including Michael Jackson, Craig David and Trisha Goddard.

The actor apologised in the wake of George Floyd's killing and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement.

The series has now been removed from All 4, as confirmed to The Sun.

A spokesperson told the tabloid: "We support Leigh in his decision to reflect on Bo' Selecta! in light of recent events and we've agreed with him to remove the show from the All 4 archive."

Francis shared the emotional video on Friday, saying he's been on a 'learning journey' and plans to continue to educate himself about race.

In the caption of his emotional Instagram video Francis wrote: "Following recent events, I've done a lot of talking and learning and I would like to put this out there. I want to apologise to anyone that was offended by Bo' Selecta!. I'm on a constant journey of knowledge and just wanted to say I'm deeply sorry. #blacklivesmatter."

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events before joining LADbible. In her spare time, Amelia likes music and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward