Little Britain and Gone With The Wind pulled from streaming services: 'Times have changed'

10 June 2020, 12:34

Little Britain has been taken down from Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Britbox streaming platforms.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ sketch show, which depicted several stereotypes including different genders, races, disabilities and sexuality, has now been removed.

Little Britain first appeared as a radio series between 2000 and 2002, and then as a television series between 2003 and 2005.

A BBC spokesperson said: "There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.

"Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer."

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A spokesperson for Britbox added: "Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox.

"Come Fly With Me has not been available on the service for six months."

Meanwhile, 1939 movie Gone With The Wind was only on HBO Max for three weeks before being temporarily pulled from the streaming service.

The film will eventually return to the platform "with added context" after it received criticism for its "romanticised depiction of US slavery".

Gone With The Wind | 75th Anniversary Trailer | Warner Bros. Entertainment

A statement from HBO read: "Gone With The Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society.

"These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.

"These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s values, so when we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.

"If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history."