Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
Entertainment
Simon Duke

Little Britain removed from Netflix, iPlayer and Britbox over use of black face

Hit comedy Little Britain has been removed from a host of streaming services due to black face.

The BBC comedy show became an instant hit at the turn of the millennium, with its stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams, pulling in millions of viewers thanks to characters like Dafyd, Vicky Pollard and Lou & Andy.

But all series of Little Britain, which recently came back for the BBC's TV fundraiser Big Night In, have now been pulled from Netflix, iPlayer and Britbox with immediate effect.

David Walliams, right, as Desiree DeVere in Little Britain, alongside Matt Lucas, left, and Rob Brydon (BBC)

Two other characters featured in the show were black woman Desiree DeVere and Pastor Jesse King, which saw both Walliams and Lucas don black makeup to portray them.

Confirming the channel's decision to pull it from iPlayer, 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 confirmed the show has been removed from its programmes too and, as well as removing Little Britain, last week Netflix also took Walliams and Lucas' other series Come Fly With Me from its titles.

The course of action over Little Britain comes as Bo Selecta creator Leigh Francis apologised for his use of black face in the Channel 4 show.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.