''Little Britain'' is a British

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series that began as a radio show in 2000 and ran as a television series between 2003 and 2006. It was written and performed by

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

and

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

. Financed by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, the radio series was first broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, with the initial two television series premiering on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

and the third and final series on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. The programme consists of sketches involving exaggerated parodies of British people from various walks of life. Each sketch was introduced by a voice-over narration (by

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...

) suggesting that the programme was a guide – aimed at non-British people – to British society. Despite the narrator's description of "great British institutions", the comedy arises from the British audience's self-deprecating understanding of themselves or people known to them. Recurring characters included Andy Pipkin who falsely presented himself as requiring the use of a wheelchair to gain the attention of his carer Lou Todd; Daffyd Thomas, who claims to be "the only gay in the village" despite much evidence to the contrary; and

Vicky Pollard This is a list of characters for the British television and radio sketch show ''Little Britain'' (and its American spin-off, ''Little Britain USA''). Overview ;Key : Characters that appear for only one sketch are not listed in the table A ...

, presented as a working-class "

chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * Julie Burchill descri ...

" engaging in

anti-social behaviour Anti-social behaviours, sometimes called dissocial behaviours, are actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviours s ...

. The programme's title was inspired by both

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and the phrase

Little Englander The Little Englanders were a British political movement who opposed empire-building and advocated complete independence for Britain's existing colonies. The ideas of Little Englandism first began to gain popularity in the late 18th century after ...

, referring to narrow-mindedness and complacent insularity. It is also the name of a London street described by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

as "a stronghold of true

John Bullism John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

". The radio show was trailed as "exploring British life in Britain as it is lived by Britons today in Britain". It spawned a live show, which toured internationally between 2005 and 2007, various specials for the ''

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

'' charity marathons, and the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

-produced ''

Little Britain USA ''Little Britain USA'' is an American spin-off-continuation of the British sketch show, ''Little Britain'', produced by and aired on HBO. As in the British series, Matt Lucas and David Walliams play most of the characters: originals such as Lo ...

'' spin-off in 2008. Walliams and Lucas followed ''Little Britain'' with another sketch show, '' Come Fly with Me''. The series was popular and received high viewing figures, receiving 9.5 million viewers following its move to BBC One in 2005. Despite the series's popularity, commentators expressed concern on the impact that the show had on the large numbers of children who watched it, despite being aired after the watershed and on the heavy use of

toilet humour Toilet humour or potty humour is a type of off-colour humour dealing with: defecation (including diarrhea and constipation), in which case it is called scatological humour (compare scatology); urination; flatulence, in which case it is called f ...

, particularly in the second and third series. Criticism was also raised regarding the perceived derogatory manner in which ''Little Britain'' depicted racial and ethnic minority groups. In 2017, Lucas stated that he had agreed with the latter criticism. In June 2020, the show was pulled from various UK streaming services due to its use of

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

. In March 2022, the BBC made Little Britain available to view on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

again, with some of the more controversial characters being cut from the original release.

History

Radio show

''Little Britain'' initially appeared as a radio show produced by Edward Flinn, which ran on

from 2000 until 2002. Radio 4 began a

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word "repe ...

of all nine episodes in February 2004 (which were slightly edited for content to suit the 6:30 pm timeslot). Unusually, this overlapped with a rerun, beginning in mid-March, of the first five programmes on the

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...

channel

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

. In June–July 2004, BBC 7 broadcast the remaining four. It was announced in October 2019 that the series would return for a one-off radio special, titled ''Little Brexit'', on BBC Radio 4 on 31 October 2019.

Television series

Like several other BBC comedies (such as '' Dead Ringers'' and ''

The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows, The Mighty Boosh (1998 stage show), ''The Mighty Boosh'', Arctic Boosh, ''Arctic Boosh'' (1999) and Autoboosh, ...

''), ''Little Britain'' made the transition from radio to television. All the episodes for the series were filmed at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. Much of the TV material was adapted from the radio version but with more emphasis on recurring characters and catchphrases. ;Series One, 2003 The first TV series was one of the new programmes in the launch line-up for digital channel

, the replacement for BBC Choice, which launched in February 2003. As a result of its success, the first series was repeated on the more widely available

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. Although reactions were mixed, many critics were enthusiastic, and the programme was commissioned for another run. Part of the series was filmed at

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne, Kent, Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury loca ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

: Emily Howard the Lady, and the Lou and Andy sketches. Every episode of the series ended with a failed world record attempt. ;Series Two, 2004 The second series, featuring several new characters, began on BBC Three on 19 October 2004. Its continued popularity meant the repeats moved to

, starting 3 December 2004. The episodes were edited for their BBC One run to remove any material that might have been too offensive for the more mainstream BBC One audience. Every episode of this series ended with a Lou and Andy sketch. ;Series Three, 2005 A third series began on 17 November 2005, for the first time on BBC One rather than BBC Three, and ended six weeks later. After its transmission, it was unclear whether there would be another, as many sketches were given dramatic twists and "wrapped up" (see individual character articles for more information). Lucas and Walliams were reportedly in talks for a fourth series with the BBC. Furthermore, they admitted in an interview they preferred to "kill off" certain characters to make way for new ones. Again, Lou and Andy appeared in the last sketch at the end of each episode, bar one. ;''Little, Little Britain'', 2005 In 2005, to raise money for

, Walliams and Lucas made a special edition of the show, dubbed ''Little, Little Britain''. The episode included a variety of sketches with celebrities, including

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

and

Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. This was released on a limited edition DVD and was released in the United States as ''Little, Little Britain'' on the Region 1 version of the ''Little Britain: Series 2'' DVD. ;''Little Britain Abroad'', 2006 In 2006, a two-part

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

special was released, in which characters from the programme were depicted as visiting other countries.

''Little Britain Live''

As a success of the television series, Lucas and Walliams created a travelling stage show based on their series. ;''Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live'', 2007 A special live version featuring appearances from celebrities such as

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...

and

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder (TV series), Minder'' and ''New Tricks'', singing the ...

was filmed in 2006 and appeared on 2007's Comic Relief show.

''Little Britain USA''

In 2007, Lucas and Walliams announced that there would be no more of the British ''Little Britain'', but they taped an American continuation of the programme entitled ''Little Britain USA'', which featured both returning characters from the British series and new American characters. According to Walliams, the new show was "effectively ''Little Britain'' series four". The show debuted on

at 10:30 pm EST Sunday 28 September 2008, then the following week on

in Britain. It also started airing on The Comedy Network in Canada in January 2010.

Specials

''Little Britain Comic Relief Special'', 2005

This was the first Little Britain Comic Relief special, with the usual cast and guest appearances from

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

, and

''Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live'', 2007

The Little Britain cast returned for a second Comic Relief Special, this time live and with special guests:

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her t ...

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...

Kate Thornton Kate Thornton (born 7 February 1973) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known as the first presenter of ''The X Factor'' (2004–2006) and for presenting daytime shows including '' Loose Women'' (2009–2011) and '' This Morning'' (2 ...

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012 ...

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and later for his comedy partnership w ...

Jeremy Edwards Jeremy Edwards (born 17 February 1971) is an English actor, known for his roles as Kurt Benson in ''Hollyoaks'', Danny Shaughnessy in ''Holby City'' and Mike Taylor in ''Millie Inbetween'', as well as being a regular panellist and guest host ...

, and

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

''Little Britain Comic Relief Special'', 2009

A crossover between the UK and USA versions, this featured guest appearances by

Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...

and

''Little Britain Comic Relief Sketch'', 2015

Walliams reprises the role of Lou Todd for Comic Relief. Guest stars included

Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...

and

. However, Lucas does not feature.

''Little Britain Does Sport Relief'', 2016

This featured Walliams reprising the role of Emily Howard. Lucas did not feature.

''Little Brexit'', 2019

This one-off special was broadcast on 31 October 2019 on

. The concept was created due to

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Lucas and Walliams both returned for this episode.

''The Big Night In'', 2020

The concept was revived for ''

The Big Night In ''The Big Night In'' is a British telethon that was broadcast by BBC One from 7pm to 10pm on 23 April 2020 to support those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first joint initiative between two BBC telethon charities, Children in Need ...

'', a 23 April 2020

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

held during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, in a skit which had the pair revisiting several characters.

Social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...

requirements meant that they appeared in separate video feeds from their own homes, and used improvised costumes.

Cast and characters

As a sketch show, ''Little Britain'' features many characters with varying degrees of costume and makeup.

and

play all the main characters in the show.

narrates and

Paul Putner Paul Putner (born 18 March 1966) is an English actor and comedian. Life and career Putner was born in March 1966 in East Grinstead, West Sussex. He studied at LAMDA where he won the Kenneth More prize for comedy acting. His first significant ...

Steve Furst Steven Jonathan Furst (born 3 September 1967) is a British comedian, actor and writer. He appeared in the Orange mobile phone cinema adverts in the UK (with Brennan Brown), playing the role of Eliot, a spoof studio executive, and has appea ...

Sally Rogers Sally Rogers (born 1964) is an English actress, best known for her role as Detective Constable/Sgt. Jo Masters in ITV's ''The Bill''. Rogers trained as a children's nanny, before taking up acting at the age of 20. She studied at Webber Dou ...

and

Stirling Gallacher Deborah Ann Stirling Gallacher (born 30 November 1970) is an English actress. She appeared in the BBC soap opera ''Doctors'' as George Woodson for six years, which earnt her numerous nominations at the British Soap Awards. Gallacher's other no ...

regularly appear as several different characters. Other regular cast members include

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

as the Prime Minister,

Ruth Jones Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019, 2024), for which she won the B ...

as Myfanwy, and

Joann Condon Joann Condon (born April 1970) is a British actress who has worked in film, television, and the theatre. Career Condon is best known for her role as Pat, a member of the Fat Fighters group in the BBC television comedy ''Little Britain'', writte ...

as Pat.

Broadcast

A two-part Christmas special, ''Little Britain Abroad'', was broadcast in December 2006 and January 2007, bringing the total number of episodes to 25. There was also the ''Little Britain Live'' show. In the UK, the series was originally broadcast on

and

and was aired in repeats on

Dave Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, and

Watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

. In the US and Bermuda, the series airs on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

BBC Canada BBC Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that mostly broadcast television series originally produced by the BBC, the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment (80% & managi ...

has aired the program from 3 March 2005 to present.

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...

broadcasts the programme in Australia and New Zealand.

Comedy Central India Comedy Central was an Indian pay television channel owned by Viacom18 under a license agreement with Paramount Networks EMEAA. The network carried programs from the American flagship network, along with domestic stand-up comedy and other acqui ...

broadcast the programme for Indian audiences.

Criticism

The programme, most notably the second and third series, has been criticised for its negative treatment of racial and ethnic minority groups and its "punch-down" comedic style. Fellow comedian

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

said that while the sketches amused her, she found them to be "very misogynistic". In 2005, Fergus Sheppard wrote in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'': : ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' columnist

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...

argued in his book '' Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class'' that Vicky Pollard, a recurring character seen in ''Little Britain'' helped to perpetuate unkind stereotypes about working-class people, exacerbated by the fact that both Walliams and Lucas attended private schools. The series became increasingly popular with children, despite being shown after the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. There was also criticism from teachers, educators and members of staff that the programme led to inappropriate copycat behaviour in class and in the playground. Speaking in October 2017, Lucas stated that if he were to remake ''Little Britain'' he would avoid making jokes about

transvestites Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

and would not play the role of a black character, saying, "Basically, I wouldn't make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

than I'd do now... Society has moved on a lot since then and my own views have evolved". He defended decisions that were taken at the time, and explained that he and Walliams deliberately sought to play a very diverse group of people. The pair went on to reproduce some of the characters – including a brief reprisal of Emily and Florence, the transvestites – on the

's ''The Big Night In'' during the 2020 pandemic where they acknowledged in character that they would not play the characters again. In June 2020, ''Little Britain'' was pulled from

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and

BritBox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

, alongside '' Come Fly with Me'', for its use of

. A spokesperson for the BBC said: "There's a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review." On its decision to remove the shows, BritBox added: "Times have changed since ''Little Britain'' first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox." Speaking shortly after the removal, Lucas and Walliams apologised again, saying: "Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry." In March 2022, ''Little Britain'' was restored to BBC iPlayer after scenes containing the use of blackface, such as the characters of Ting Tong and Desiree DeVere were removed and a content warning included. In a statement, the BBC said "Little Britain has been made available to fans on BBC iPlayer following edits made to the series by Matt and David that better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last 20 years since the show was first made."

Spin-offs and merchandise

"I'm Gay", the song that Matt Lucas's character Daffyd Thomas sang at the end of the ''

Little Britain Live ''Little Britain Live'' is a stage show based on the television sketch series '' Little Britain'', performed by its stars, David Walliams and Matt Lucas, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha ...

'' shows, was released as a CD single in Australia in March 2007 and reached number 66 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. Matt Lucas and

, in the guise of their characters Andy Pipkin and Brian Potter, re-recorded the song "

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is a song written and performed by Scottish duo the Proclaimers, and first released in August 1988 by Chrysalis as the lead single from their second album, '' Sunshine on Leith'' (1988). The song reached number 11 in ...

" with its creators,

The Proclaimers The Proclaimers are a Scottish Rock music, rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (born 5 March 1962). They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America (song), Letter from America", which reached No. 3 ...

. This version was released as a charity single for

on 19 March 2007. '' Little Britain: The Video Game'' was released in February 2007. It featured a variety of characters in mini-games and received very negative reviews, being referred to by some as one of the worst games ever made. The Russian series ''

Nasha Russia ''Nasha Russia'' (, literally "Our Russia") is a Russian sketch show based on the British comedy show ''Little Britain'', created by Comedy Club Production. It was written by former KVN players and producers Semyon Slepakov, Garik Martirosyan and ...

'' is inspired by ''Little Britain''. In 2010, characters returned for

Nationwide Building Society Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution and the largest building society in the world. As of 2024, it serves over 16 million members and operates entirely for their benefit, without shareholders. The society was e ...

adverts, including

Lou and Andy Lou Todd and Andy Pipkin are fictional characters from the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'', played by David Walliams and Matt Lucas respectively. Andy's catchphrases include, "Yeah I know", "Want that one" and "(I) Don't like it", w ...

and

Eddie (Emily) Howard Eddie may refer to: *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X *Eddie (crater), a crater on Mars *Eddie (given name) *The Eddie, a surfing tournament Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1 ...

Little Britain Productions

Little Britain Productions is a

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

set up by Lucas and Walliams to produce their future television projects, such as '' Come Fly with Me'', ''

Rock Profile ''Rock Profile'' is a British television comedy show written by and starring comedy partnership Matt Lucas and David Walliams, both later widely known for the sketch show '' Little Britain''. ''Rock Profile'' first appeared on the channel UK P ...

'' and '' The One...''.

Home media

VHS

On 11 October 2004, Little Britain The Complete First Series was released on VHS.

DVD

References

Informational notes Citations

External links

* * */radio4
Little Britain official websiteLittle Britain USA official website
{{Authority control

Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (TV series), a British radio and then television series ** '' Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album ''Second ...

2000 radio programme debuts 2003 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 2000s British television sketch shows 2000s British LGBTQ-related comedy television series 2000s British satirical television series BBC Radio 4 programmes BBC television sketch shows Blackface theatre Cross-dressing in television English comedy duos British English-language television shows International Emmy Award for best comedy series winners LGBTQ-related controversies in television LGBTQ-related controversies in the United Kingdom Race-related controversies in television Radio programs adapted into television shows Television series based on radio series Television series produced at Pinewood Studios Television shows adapted into video games Television series by BBC Studios Television series created by David Walliams

History

Radio show

Television series

''Little Britain Live''

''Little Britain USA''

Specials

''Little Britain Comic Relief Special'', 2005

''Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live'', 2007

''Little Britain Comic Relief Special'', 2009

''Little Britain Comic Relief Sketch'', 2015

''Little Britain Does Sport Relief'', 2016

''Little Brexit'', 2019

''The Big Night In'', 2020

Cast and characters

Broadcast

Criticism

Spin-offs and merchandise

Little Britain Productions

Home media

VHS

DVD

See also

References

Further reading

External links