BBC brings back Little Britain after blackface controversy – and keeps ‘racist and bigoted’ sketches in

LITTLE Britain may have returned with edits which “reflect the cultural landscape” but the BBC have left in some sketches which have still shocked viewers.

Last year, the hit comedy – written by Matt Lucas, 48,  and David Walliams, 50 – was removed from the streaming service over blackface controversy.

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David Walliams in black face on Little Britain[/caption]

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Little Britain is returning to the streaming channel[/caption]

But now it’s back with certain characters axed. They include Thai bride Ting Tong Macadangdang, played by Matt, and  Pastor Jesse King and Desiree DeVere, which both saw David do blackface.

But Desiree’s pal at the spa, Bubbles De Vere, has been retained, along with other potentially controversial characters   including Bristolian Vicky Pollard, wheelchair user and carer Lou and Andy,  Welsh gay villager Dafydd Thomas and trans character Emily Heward.

But other sketches deemed racist and bigoted have remained in the episodes. In series two, university counsellor Linda Flint describes a Chinese student to her boss Martin.

She says he has: “straight black hair, yellowish skin, slight smell of soy sauce….that’s it, the ching-chong Chinaman.”

In another she describes a feminist poetry student as having: “quite short hair, a few piercings, wears a lot of black, combat trousers…that’s right, the big, fat lesbian.” and also describes a little person as: “He looks up a  lot, gets his clothes from Mothercare…that’s it, the Oompa-Loompa.” and calls a Sikh in a turban “Ali Bongo.”

But a BBC 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.”

As a result of certain sketches being removed some episode have been cut from almost half an hour running to time to just 23 minutes.

A warning message also appears before some episodes, letting viewers know there could be “discriminatory language”.

But that wasn’t enough to appease many viewers who took to social media to vent their frustration that only some sketches and characters which could be considered offensive had been removed.

One Tweeter said: “Can we just leave Little Britain in the comedy bin where it belongs next to Love Thy Neighbour? Or condense the episodes down including the genuinely good sketches and leaving out all the racism and transphobia.”

Another Tweeted: “It’s not GOOD ENOUGH. what about the disabled and  inpatient characters?… the transphobic skit? cut the whole show, or do more without discriminating minorities.”

Others felt it shouldn’t have been changed at all to remind us how times have changed. 

A tweeter said: “I’m glad Little Britain is back but don’t agree with editing art to match modern standards of political correctness.

“(They) show our progress as a multi-ethnic nation and are part of our history.”

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David and Matt wrote the hit comedy[/caption]