Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan is disappointed and surprised at the decision by Channel 4 to add racism warnings before two episodes of the iconic show.
Linehan co-wrote the famous sitcom with Arthur Matthews - which now has racial impersonation and blackface alerts for anyone who tries to watch the specific episodes on All 4.
The first warning, which was attached to episode four of season one, relates to a priest in blackface pretending to be a member of the band The Supremes during a talent show.
It states: “This episode was made in 1995 and contains a scene of blackface which some viewers may find offensive . . . This programme isn’t suitable for younger viewers."
The second warning, which relates to Father Ted doing an impression of a Chinese man, was added to episode one of season three.
The alert reads: “This episode was made in 1998 and contains language and racial impersonation which some viewers may find offensive.”
And in an interview with The Times, Mr Linehan claimed he had not been informed about the new warnings.
He said: "It's news to me" before claiming that by adding them, Channel 4 was paying attention to some of the most “hysterical people in the world”.
“Once they start they can’t stop and it’s going to make comedy impossible. You don’t get comedy by painting everything in a rosy light — you have to make fun of things and people. There’s so many warnings for everything now, it’s just never ending.”
In a statement, Channel 4 said: “We have carefully reviewed the principles governing how we handle historic programmes across our platforms. In light of current audience expectations, we have updated the viewer advice for certain episodes of Father Ted on All 4. No edits have been made to these brilliant and beloved comedy episodes and they remain available for audiences old and new to enjoy.”
