THE BBC is removing Little Britain and reviewing material featuring and written by David Walliams following allegations against the author and TV star.
Disgraced actor, comedian and writer Walliams faces allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming against multiple women after an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News.
The 55-year-old rose to fame writing and starring in BBC sketch show Little Britain with Matt Lucas.
READ MORE: David Walliams tells journalists ‘I am not a sexual predator’ in letter
The show first aired in 2003 and was known for its controversial sense of humour, running for three series until 2006, with a number of specials following.
Following the publication of allegations on Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said: “These are serious allegations.
“As such, the BBC is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms.
“We are in the process of removing some programmes, including Little Britain, whilst this review is under way.”
During a stage show of Little Britain in 2006, Walliams was known to perform an act called Hide The Sausage, where he performed as a former children’s entertainer and sex offender named Des Kaye, which saw him touch and pull down the trousers of audience members and attempt to kiss them.
The pair also wrote Little Britain USA, which aired in 2008, and would go on to write BBC airport mockumentary Come Fly With Me, a play on documentaries such as Airport and Airline, which aired in 2010 and featured a similar style of comedy to Little Britain.
In 2020, Little Britain was pulled from various UK streaming services due to its use of blackface.
The show was also criticised for its portrayal of black women by white men.
Walliams sported black make-up and a large afro wig to play the overweight black woman Desiree DeVere.
Lucas also used blackface to play Pastor Jesse King, who said he was “from the ghetto” and spoke in tongues to cure the sick.
Some of the show’s controversial characters were cut when the BBC reuploaded it two years later.
Come Fly With Me, in which Lucas wore dark make-up to play Jamaican woman Precious and ground crew employee Taaj, who was of Pakistani descent, was also similarly edited.
Both Walliams and Lucas apologised for their use of blackface in the shows, calling it “wrong” in 2020, with Lucas also describing the comedy in the series as “cruel”.
Elsewhere, Walliams has been dropped by his literary agency, Independent Talent Group and Labour have suspended his membership of the party.
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