London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Feb 01, 2026

David Walliams’ response to Netflix and BBC removing Little Britain after woke backlash

David Walliams’ response to Netflix and BBC removing Little Britain after woke backlash

DAVID WALLIAMS responded to Netflix and the BBC removing Little Britain amid objections over the sketch show's characters, in a throwback interview.

David Walliams appears on The Jonathan Ross Show tonight as part of a star-studded lineup. Joining Jonathan and David will be Great British Bake Off icons Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, documentary maker Louis Theroux, and Hollywood superstar Kevin Hart. Chart-toppers Westlife also pops in for a chat, during which they reveal that their children have started performing together. The boyband will also perform a song from their impressive back catalogue, which includes 14 UK number-one singles, cementing their status as one of the most successful boy bands of all time.

Mr Walliams is best known for his work with fellow comedian Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch show Little Britain and Come Fly With Me.

Since then, he has been a judge on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent among a host of other things, including swimming the length of the River Thames for Sport Relief and writing a series of children’s books.

Little Britain came under fire last year for some of the characters used in various sketches.

Netflix pulled both Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, while both the BBC and Britbox removed Little Britain.

A BBC spokesperson said at the time: “Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is currently available on BBC iPlayer.”

Little Britain was removed by the BBC, Netflix and Britbox.

Mr Walliams has apologise for the use of blackface.


Criticism included making jokes about transvestites and the use of blackface.

They used make-up and prosthetics to play characters from different ethnic backgrounds to their own.

Both Mr Walliams and Mr Lucas have since apologised.

Speaking to The Sun last year, Mr Walliams said he would adopt a different approach now.

He said: “You’d definitely do it differently because it’s a different time.

Owen Jones accused the show of inciting hurtful stereotypes.


“There’s all kinds of tolerances that change.”

He did, however, insist he was not mocking minorities in the show: “You’ve got to understand comedy for me is celebrating things.”

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement last year, he also released a statement: “Matt and 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 and we are very sorry.”

Mr Lucas had previously expressed his own regrets over the show.

Mr Walliams and Mr Lucas have both expressed regret at some of the scenes.


He told The Big Issue in a 2017 interview: “If I could go back and do Little Britain again, I wouldn’t make those jokes about transvestites. I wouldn’t play black characters.

“Basically, I wouldn’t make that show now. It would upset people.

“We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I’d do now. Society has moved on a lot since then and my own views have evolved.”

Little Britain first hit our screens in 2003 and ended in 2006.

Political commentator Owen Jones said in his 2011 book ‘Class: The Demonization of the Working Class’ that the show had helped perpetuate various unkind stereotypes about working-class people.

David Walliams and Matt Lucas take part in the BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief 'Big Night In'


The popular series, which received 9.5 million viewers after its move to BBC One in 2005, has had a number of one-off specials since.

Mr Walliams and Mr Lucas stopped working with each other in 2011, and it was revealed in Mr Lucas’ autobiography that tensions came to a head during the 2005 Little Britain Live tour.

He wrote they were “often at loggerheads” and rows often escalated. One particular disagreement, over Mr Walliams’ facial hair, turned into a vicious screaming match.

Mr Lucas wrote they were “suddenly hurling obscenities at each other”.

The pair eventually fixed their feud, and created a Little Brexit spin-off, which broadcast on BBC Radio 4, where Little Britain first started in 2000.

Mr Walliams told The Sun last year that there will “definitely be some more Little Britain coming”.

He said: “I can’t say when exactly but at the right time and place.”

He added: “Matt and I have been getting lots of offers to do more things together again.

“We just need to decide whether it is revisiting something we’ve already done or working on something brand new, or doing both those things.”

David Walliams appears on The Jonathan Ross Show tonight. The show begins at 9:30pm, and will also be available on ITV Player.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
×