Survey participants claimed ‘society had moved on’ from Little Britain. (Image: GETTY)
Last year, a Little Britain sketch was in an report. The opinion was expressed three years after the show came under fire for some jokes and characters used in various scenes.
Little Britain was a comedy sketch show created by and starring former judge David Walliams and ex- presenter Matt Lucas. The pair took on multiple aliases during Little Britain’s three-season run and also appeared in a plethora of specials.
In 2020, episodes of the show were pulled from streaming services such as and iPlayer following criticism. Two years later, Little Britain returned to the latter with some scenes edited out.
In 2023, polling company Ipsos showed a sketch from the show to 115 people on Ofcom’s behalf. It’s understood the scene featured David, 53, in character using racist terms to describe a character of Asian descent.
According to the report, participants felt as if “society had moved on” from the “humour” presented in Little Britain. Moreover, they questioned how it wasn’t “acceptable” for linear TV but was available to stream.
Little Britain was removed in its entirety from BBC iPlayer in 2020 before returning to the platform. (Image: GETTY)
“A few participants said they found it funny but seemed embarrassed to say this and could recognise why it would be offensive,” the Ofcom report read, .
“However, they did not think the current rating was enough, wanting a warning about the racist language and an explanation for why it was still accessible. For some, the content was considered too problematic, even for VoD.”
The media regulator continued to write: “The clip was considered less acceptable because the participants felt it was purposely offensive in stereotyping and targeting an ethnic minority group for comedy purposes.
“Some reasoned that it was important to still show this content to reflect the beliefs of society at the time.”
It added that some participants raised “concerns” about racist behaviours being “normalised” and how content could be repeated back to young children.
In response to the Ofcom report, the stated: “All jokes in our output are judged on context and intent.
Don’t miss… [REACTION]
The pair want the Little Britain reboot to be ‘a little bit edgy’. (Image: GETTY)
“The sketches in which the character Linda Flint makes reference to the appearance or race of a series of people are intended to expose and ridicule some of the outdated prejudices and racism that still exist in parts of British society, which is more apparent when viewing the sketches within the context of a full episode, and across the series as a whole.
“The programme is part of the ‘s comedy archive and information is provided for iPlayer viewers about the inclusion of discriminatory language.”
Earlier this year, David revealed he and Matt that would include non-PC jokes akin to those previously featured in Little Britain.
Appearing on Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey Clancy’s podcast, The Therapy Crouch, he said: “We’re writing again but we want to do entirely new characters like Come Fly With Me.
“It’s a little bit edgy, there are jokes in it that are like, not in terrible taste, but, you know, like Little Britain was and Come Fly With Me.
“No, it’s not trendy, it’s edgy. It’s walking a line between… like some people might be a little bit shocked.”
In June, David appeared on to dispel rumours the pair’s new show would be a Little Britain reboot.
“We’re writing a new show, not Little Britain,” he confessed. “It’s a different show [with] all new characters.
“The deal isn’t done, but we’re still writing it.”