Little Britain removed from streaming services after blackface criticism
Little Britain has been removed from iPlayer because "times have changed" since the comedy first aired, the BBC has said.
The series, starring David Walliams and Matt Lucas, has come under fire recently because of the use of blackface in some sketches. Last week, comedian Leigh Francis issued a tearful apology for portraying black celebrities on sketch show Bo' Selecta.
The comic played stars including king of pop Michael Jackson, singer Craig David and talkshow host Trisha Goddard on the show, which first aired in 2002.
A BBC spokesman said: "There's a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer which we regularly review. Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer."
A BritBox spokeswoman also confirmed the show has been removed from that platform too.
Lucas has since said he has regrets about Little Britain, describing the comedy as "cruel". He told The Big Issue: "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."