London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, May 11, 2025

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
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
×