Matt Lucas and David Walliams's Come Fly With Me also vanishes from streaming services

Little Britain has been pulled from streaming services because Matt Lucas and David Walliams used blackface for some of their characters.

Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox have all dropped the show, as well as their follow-up Come Fly With Me.

The decision is in apparent reaction to the renewed Black Lives Matter protests – although some fans of the duo subsequently complained at the series’ removal.

Streaming services saying ‘times have changed’ since the show first aired – although many were happy to run it until very recently.

In Little Britain, Walliams blacked up in a fat suit to play the outrageous socialite Desiree de Vere, and Matt Walliams played Thai bride Ting Tong.

And in  2010’s Come Fly With Me, Lucas played Jamaican coffee shop worker Precious Little and Taaj, a dim ground crew worker of Pakistani descent, while Walliams played Middle Eastern passenger liaison officer Moses and airline boss Omar Baba. Both also played Japanese schoolgirls.

Netflix took down all episodes of Little Britain and Comedy Fly With Me on Friday, while they are also no longer available on iPlayer nor Britbox.

It is not clear when it was removed from the streaming service, but Britbox only launched in the UK in November and did carry the shows.

While Player never carried Come Fly With Me, a spokesman for the BBC told Chortle they regularly review old programming on the serviced and, added: ‘Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.’

A spokesman for BritBox, co-owned by the BBC and ITV, used the exact-same words to say: ’Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox.’

 Netflix declined to comment, but confirmed Little Britain was removed on Friday,

Some fans took to Twitter to complain, with comments including  ‘I’m absolutely furious’ and: ‘I want to live in a  free country and make my own choices. Not an oppressive regime where I’m told what I can and can’t watch.’

But another viewer said: ‘We all must face up and accept this was unacceptable and it’s still shown on Netflix’, while another still addressed the company directly: ‘Please do not endorse a show which perpetuates stereotypes of minority groups and makes a Laughing Stock of people who have to fight for basic equality within life.’

Lucas has subsequently distanced himself from some of his earlier work, saying  he wouldn't play black characters any more. He said of Little Britain: '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.'

The removal of the shows comes after Keith Lemon creator Leigh Francis tearfully apologised for impersonating black stars on his 2000s Channel 4 show Bo’ Selecta. 

Netflix had reportedly been in discussions with Lucas and Walliams about making a new series of Little Britain, following the success of a Brexit-themed radio episode and an appearance on the BBC’s Big Night In earlier in lockdown.

• Ten comedians who used blackface

Published: 9 Jun 2020