BBC brings back Mitchell and Webb for 20th anniversary, minus 11 sketches
The BBC has brought back That Mitchell and Webb Look to mark 20 years since it first aired, but 11 sketches are missing from the streaming version.
The Bafta-winning sketch show, starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, was returned to BBC iPlayer, the BBC's on-demand streaming service, for the anniversary. Viewers quickly noticed the gaps. Reddit users pointed out that sketches had been removed, according to Deadline.
The show was produced by BBC Studios. The BBC's listings describe it as a comedy sketch show and state that 24 episodes are available, per the BBC iPlayer A to Z page.
As many as 11 sketches were cut. That figure comes from the most recent reporting on the re-release.
Two of the removed sketches were described in detail. One featured Mitchell and Webb as English Civil War re-enactors acting out a conflict between government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a rebel militia. Another featured Webb and Olivia Colman spoofing a makeover show, in which a woman in a burqa removes the garment to reveal Mitchell in Blackface, meaning dark make-up used to caricature a Black person.
A third cut sketch featured an Indigenous tribe living in a garden centre, as reported by The Telegraph. Episodes containing jokes about Jimmy Savile, the late BBC presenter later exposed as a serial sex offender, were also edited, according to The Independent.
A BBC spokesperson said the series was made available on iPlayer including sketches that still work today in consultation with programme makers. The BBC has not published a full list of the edits.
The decision drew criticism. Comedian Dom Jolly called the cuts "hysterical censorship" in comments to The Times of London.
This is not the first time the BBC has trimmed its comedy archive for iPlayer. It previously removed Little Britain and The Mighty Boosh in similar circumstances over the use of Blackface and racial stereotypes.
For fans, this means the anniversary version is not complete. The core series is there to stream. Some of its most pointed sketches are not.
