Little Britain (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The radio show was trailed as 'exploring British life in Britain as it is lived by Britons today in Britain'.
• Every episode of the first TV series ended with a failed world record attempt.
• The programme's title was inspired by both Great Britain and the phrase Little Englander.

History

Little Britain began as a radio show produced by Edward Flinn, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 2000 to 2002. Radio 4 reran all nine episodes in February 2004, edited for content to suit a 6:30 pm timeslot, while the digital channel BBC 7 also aired the first five programmes from mid-March 2004 and the remaining four in June–July 2004. In October 2019, a one-off radio special titled Little Brexit was announced for BBC Radio 4 on 31 October 2019. The series made the transition from radio to television, with all episodes filmed at Pinewood Studios; much of the TV material adapted from the radio version but with greater emphasis on recurring characters and catchphrases.

The first television series launched in 2003 as part of the new BBC Three channel, replacing BBC Choice. Its success led to a repeat on BBC Two and a second series commission. Part of the first series was filmed at Herne Bay in Kent. The second series began on BBC Three on 19 October 2004, with repeats moving to BBC One from 3 December 2004; episodes were edited for the BBC One run to remove potentially offensive material.

The third series started on 17 November 2005 on BBC One, ending six weeks later. After transmission, it was unclear whether a fourth series would follow, as many sketches were given dramatic twists and wrapped up; Lucas and Walliams were reportedly in talks for a fourth series and said they preferred to 'kill off' certain characters to make way for new ones.

Broadcast

The series ran for 25 episodes, including the two-part Christmas special Little Britain Abroad broadcast in late 2006 and early 2007, plus a stage show. In the UK, it first appeared on BBC Three and BBC One, later repeated on Dave, Gold, and Watch. BBC America carried it in the US and Bermuda, while BBC Canada has aired it since March 2005. UKTV handled Australia and New Zealand, and Comedy Central India broadcast it for Indian viewers.

Criticism

The programme, particularly the second and third series, drew criticism for its negative treatment of racial and ethnic minority groups and its 'punch-down' comedic style. Fellow comedian Victoria Wood found the sketches amusing but 'very misogynistic'. In 2005, Fergus Sheppard wrote in The Scotsman about the show. Guardian columnist Owen Jones argued in his book Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class that the character Vicky Pollard helped 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 airing after the watershed, leading to criticism from teachers and educators about inappropriate copycat behaviour in class and playgrounds. Speaking in October 2017, Matt Lucas stated that if he were to remake Little Britain he would avoid jokes about transvestites and would not play a black character, saying 'Basically, I wouldn't make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I'd do now...

Society has moved on a lot since then and my own views have evolved.' He defended decisions taken at the time and explained that he and Walliams deliberately sought to play a diverse group of people. The pair reprised some characters, including the transvestites Emily and Florence, on the BBC's The Big Night In during the 2020 pandemic, acknowledging in character that they would not play them again. In June 2020, Little Britain was pulled from BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and BritBox for its use of blackface.

A BBC spokesperson said: 'There's a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.' BritBox added: 'Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox.' Lucas and Walliams apologised again, saying 'Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry.'

Spin-offs and merchandise

The song 'I'm Gay', performed by Matt Lucas as Daffyd Thomas in the Little Britain Live shows, was released as a CD single in Australia in March 2007 and reached number 66 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Matt Lucas and Peter Kay, as their characters Andy Pipkin and Brian Potter, re-recorded 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' with The Proclaimers as a charity single for Comic Relief on 19 March 2007. Little Britain: The Video Game was released in February 2007, featuring characters in mini-games, and received very negative reviews. The Russian series Nasha Russia is inspired by Little Britain. In 2010, characters including Lou and Andy, Vicky Pollard, and Eddie (Emily) Howard appeared in Nationwide Building Society adverts.