BBC responds after Mitchell & Webb show added to iPlayer with sketches 'removed'

The BBC has responded after That Mitchell and Webb Look was uploaded to the iPlayer streaming service with certain sketches removed.

The series, which ran between 2006 and 2010, starred David Mitchell and Robert Webb in the height of their Peep Show fame. It featured recurring scenarios such as Numberwang, The Event, Hennimore, and Sir Digby Chicken Caesar.

Not every sketch is available on the version uploaded to iPlayer, with The Times reporting that the 11 removed sketches include blackface, Bill Oddie, jokes about Jimmy Saville, and a rude version of Gandhi.

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A statement made by the BBC to Digital Spy reads: "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."

The statement does not state whether Mitchell and Webb themselves were included in that consultation.

Speaking to The Times, fellow comedian Dom Joly said the decision was "classic BBC overkill" and "hysterical censorship", stating: "I totally get it if the BBC is putting out something really racist, which is laughing at and encouraging other people to feel that it's okay to do that.

"But it's so clear that Mitchell and Webb are not doing that. Their intent was not to be racist."

"If you really, really have to, put some sort of warning before it", he added. "But even that is so patronising."

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Hat Trick Productions co-founder Jimmy Mulville explained that: "It's a difficult thing. I think I can see the BBC's point. I can really see it from both points of view. The BBC are in an impossible position."

He stated that comedy has historically "[tried] to shine a light on bigotry in order to laugh at it" but "you couldn't even pitch that show these days" due the loss of "nuance in debate" thanks to social media.

Mulville did say that he "personally... wouldn't censor anything" but did feel like the blackface "is a problem".

That Mitchell and Webb Look can be streamed on BBC iPlayer. Unedited versions are available via Sky and NOW, with a content warning before the episode airs.

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.