Ben Miller reveals racism fears

The BBC axed the word ‘gypsies’ from a comedy sketch for fear it may cause offence.

Armstrong and Miller had written a spoof Seventies public information film, mocking the casual racism of the era.

But Ben Miller has revealed that he and co-star Alexander Armstrong agreed to drop the term after a ‘debate’ with corporation chiefs.

He told the Broadcast TV Comedy Forum: ‘We had a debate with the BBC, “is it a good word to use?” amid the current climate of fear. The consensus was to take it out

‘There is electricity in the air around any subject that could be seen as racist, such a hunger for debate.

‘Comedy needs to be pushing at the boundaries, so you have to have these difficult negotiations.’ But he insisted such discussions were a ‘normal, healthy part of writing’.

However, Armstrong said he feared that in the current post-Sachsgate climate ‘[newspaper] copy writers are holding sway over comedy’ and insisted: ‘The target was the casual racism of the Seventies.’

But he added that comedy was often subject to more scrutiny than drama because ‘comedy is about laughs, and it can look like you are using a position of strength to look down on people.’

Miller added: ‘Taken over a whole series, if all we have to do is have one discussion about the word “gypsy” that’s quite good in terms of governance

‘We haven’t found ourselves restricted, but I hope that’s because we’re thinking very carefully about what we put on screen.

‘In a comedy club you can get away with more, because the audience is used to a certain brand strength in the comedy cigarettes they smoke. But BBC One is like speaking at a wedding – you need to be aware you’re speaking to all sorts of people, not a unified group.’

Gill Brown of the London Gypsy and Traveller Unit said it the term ‘gypsy’ would only be racist if used incorrectly. She said: ‘Romany gypsies are an ethnic group, so if you use it in the correct context it is not racist. However it can still be used as a slur and that is racist. 'The word was used in a very racist and discriminatory way for many years.’

Published: 23 Sep 2009