'Woke' reboot of Little Britain in the works after Matt Lucas and David Walliams apologise for show's offensive humour

21 December 2023, 09:42 | Updated: 21 December 2023, 10:37

Matt Lucas and David Walliams have confirmed a Little Britain reboot is on its way - but the show will return with a ‘different’ look to the original.

Little Britain which ran from 2003 until 2006, showed the lives of multiple characters living in Britain.

But the show has faced a torrent of backlash in recent years for its use of offensive humour - including the use of blackface, racial stereotyping and more.

Lucas, 49, and Walliams, 52, both issued apologies in 2020 for their use of blackface in the show.

Now Lucas has confirmed a reboot on the way but this time around the comedy duo are planning to ‘diversify’ the talent included in the production process.

The show is set to have a very different look and is likely to wave goodbye to some of its problematic characters.

“The show will be different in many ways,” Lucas told The Sun.

“We are talking about how we can have diverse talent on screen and in the writers' room and conceive it as something which is just not about me and David playing absolutely everyone.

“That is something we should have done but didn't do back then”.

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Little Britain was initially taken off streaming platforms in the wake of the backlash but was later restored to screens in 2022 with scenes depicting blackface cut from the episodes.

The show now runs online with content warnings at the start.

Lucas said he “respects” everyone’s opinion but acknowledged that times have changed.

He said: “Because some people are upset about what we do, or what we have done, out of respect to those people I don’t talk about it publicly because I don’t want to cause further upset to people who were upset.

“I totally accept there are different opinions.

“I accept people feel very differently from others and I respect everyone’s opinion from wherever they come from on this subject. I see things differently now to how we did.

“Things have changed and I respect that.”

All three seasons of the show are set to return to the TV this Christmas to mark its 20-year anniversary.