BBC omits 11 Mitchell & Webb sketches from anniversary iPlayer selection

Eleven sketches from That Mitchell & Webb Look have been excluded from BBC iPlayer after the broadcaster decided they no longer work for contemporary audiences.

The comedy series aired from 2006 to 2010 and featured Peep Show stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb alongside cast members including future Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Daniel Kaluuya. Other notable features included Ted and Peter, a satire of snooker commentary, and Numberwang, a parody of elaborate television quiz shows.

The show returned to iPlayer to mark its 20th anniversary, but 11 sketches were left out. A BBC spokesperson told BBC News: “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.”

The Times reported that one omitted sketch featured Mitchell and Webb as war re-enactors in blackface. Another involved the pair portraying a “tribe” living in a garden centre. Neither comedian has publicly commented on the exclusions.

Similar action was taken with the BBC sketch show Little Britain, whose material was restricted in 2020 following complaints about culturally insensitive portrayals. In a joint statement on X in June 2020, creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams said: “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; we are very sorry.”

The show returned to iPlayer in 2022 after edits were made to “better reflect the cultural landscape” of today.

BBC iPlayer has also restricted other programmes containing material now considered racist or offensive. When Britbox launched in 2019 with a selection of classic British television, titles including Till Death Do Us Part, Love Thy Neighbour and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum were excluded.

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