BBC Removes Blackface Sketches From ‘That Mitchell And Webb Look’

The BBC has cut Blackface and other sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look after making the comedy series available on iPlayer.

The British broadcaster recently reinstated That Mitchell and Webb Look online to mark its 20th anniversary, but eagle-eyed Reddit users pointed out that the broadcaster had removed sketches.

As many as 11 sketches are said to have been expunged from the BBC Studios-produced series, starring Peep Show actors David Mitchell and Robert Webb.

A BBC spokesperson said: “That Mitchell and Webb Look has been made available on BBC iPlayer. This is a 20-year-old sketch show; in consultation with the programme makers, we have included the ones that still work today and not the ones that don’t.”

Cut sketches include one in which Mitchell and Webb play English Civil War re-enactors who have grown bored of their roles and recreate a conflict between government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a rebel militia.

Mitchell asks: “Are you absolutely sure that this isn’t racist?” They agree to stop the reenactment at the first sign of racism. When one threatens the other with a machete, they halt the reenactment, concluding: “It’s racist. Very, very racist. Shame.”

In another sketch, Webb and Olivia Colman parody a makeover show and are confronted by a woman in a burqa. It then cuts to Webb discussing whether the sketch is offensive, with the woman in the burqa removing her garment to reveal Mitchell in Blackface.

British comedian Dom Jolly told The Times of London that the cuts were “hysterical censorship,” but the BBC is being consistent in deleting the scenes. The BBC previously removed Little Britain and Mighty Boosh from iPlayer in similar circumstances.