Little Britain sketch branded 'explicitly racist' is still available on iPlayer

31 October 2023 , 13:56

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The uncomfortable scene saw Linda Flint describe a student as having 'yellowish skin' and a 'slight smell of soy sauce'

An anarchic and "explicitly racist" Little Britain sketch that made a racial slur against an Asian student is still available to watch on BBC iPlayer, Ofcom has found.

The regulator conducted research in which it showed people a number of clips of television, as part of a study into audience expectations on potentially offensive content across linear TV and streaming services. One sketch from the David Walliams and Matt Lucas comedy show, originally broadcast in 2002 and available on iPlayer, shows university employee Linda Flint describing Kenneth Lao over the phone to her manager.

The student is described by Linda, played by Walliams, using racist stereotypes and slurs and the scene is accompanied by a laugh track. The research participants, who were questioned by polling company Ipsos, viewed the content as "explicitly racist and outdated, and felt that society had moved on", the report said.

David Walliams and Matt Lucas apologised for their black face characters after Little Britain's axe (BBC)

The comedy came under fire over its regular use of ‘blackface’ makeup but was eventually pulled from iPlayer, Britbox and Netflix altogether. But the BBC last year decided to reinstated it, instead making edits to the programme that ‘better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last 20 years since the show was first made’.

Following the backlash, Matt and David made identical statements to apologise back in 2020: "Matt & 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 & we are very sorry."

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

The Ofcom report stated: "A few participants said they found it funny but seemed embarrassed to say this and could recognise why it would be offensive. This content was not considered acceptable for linear TV and many were surprised that it was available on BBC iPlayer.

The stars say they would do things very differently if they could turn back the clock (Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

"Others thought a VoD (video on demand) platform was appropriate because it meant viewers could have the choice about whether to watch the content or not. However, they did not think the current rating was enough, wanting a warning about the racist language and an explanation for why it was still accessible. For some, the content was considered too problematic, even for VoD."

The episode currently features a warning before a viewer clicks on the show, reading: "Contains adult humour. Contains discriminatory language." The report said: "The clip was considered less acceptable because the participants felt it was purposely offensive in stereotyping and targeting an ethnic minority group for comedy purposes.

"Some reasoned that it was important to still show this content to reflect the beliefs of society at the time. However, there were concerns that it could normalise racist behaviours which could be repeated by young children."

One respondent, a father from Scotland, told the Press Association: "If I saw my daughter watching that and then mimicking it, I’d be horrified. If kids are watching it, they need it to be explained that that’s not acceptable. It’s passed off as acceptable behaviour towards fellow human beings that come from a different part of the world."

A BBC spokesperson said: "All jokes in our output are judged on context and intent. The sketches in which the character Linda Flint makes reference to the appearance or race of a series of people are intended to expose and ridicule some of the outdated prejudices and racism that still exist in parts of British society, which is more apparent when viewing the sketches within the context of a full episode, and across the series as a whole.

"The programme is part of the BBC’s comedy archive and information is provided for iPlayer viewers about the inclusion of discriminatory language."

Sam Elliott-Gibbs