BBC Urged To Take Action Over ‘Little Britain’ After Ofcom Research Finds Viewers Shocked “Explicitly Racist” Sketch Is On iPlayer

deadline.com:

Little Britain, David Walliams and Matt Lucas‘ anarchic noughties sketch show, is causing trouble again. Research by UK media regulator Ofcom found that viewers were shocked that an “explicitly racist” scene from the BBC comedy was available to stream on iPlayer.

Ofcom, via polling company Ipsos, showed 115 people the Little Britain sketch as part of a study into audience expectations on potentially offensive content across linear TV and streaming services.

The scene involved Linda Flint, a university counselor played by Walliams, describing student Kenneth Lao as having “yellowish skin, slight smell of soy sauce … the ching-chong China man.” First broadcast in 2004, the sketch featured in episode two of Little’s Britain‘s second season and is currently available to view on iPlayer. “Participants viewed this content as explicitly racist and outdated and felt that society had moved on,” the Ofcom study said. “This content was not considered acceptable for linear TV and many were surprised that it was available on BBC iPlayer.” Some participants said they found the clip funny, but “seemed embarrassed to say this and could recognise why it would be offensive.” A content warning on iPlayer says the episode “contains discriminatory language,” but viewers who participated in the Ofcom study said they wanted “a warning about the racist language and an explanation for why it was still accessible.” They also felt it should have an age rating of 15.

Others questioned why the BBC had removed controversial blackface scenes from Little Britain in 2020, but the show continued to feature racist tropes about Asian people.