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BBC axes 11 Mitchell and Webb sketches from iPlayer because they 'no longer work today'

From the Newshound archive · first published 20 September 2026 · last updated 22 September 2026.

A garden centre sketch from That Mitchell and Webb Look — one of 11 episodes the BBC quietly cut from iPlayer, which Dom Joly condemned as "hysterical censorship.
A garden centre sketch from That Mitchell and Webb Look — one of 11 episodes the BBC quietly cut from iPlayer, which Dom Joly condemned as "hysterical censorship.

Eleven sketches from the Bafta-winning series 'That Mitchell and Webb Look' have been quietly cut from BBC iPlayer as the corporation re-uploaded the show to mark its 20th anniversary. The removed material includes a scene where the duo wear blackface while satirising racism as Civil War re-enactors, a makeover sketch featuring a contestant in a burka, a joke referencing Jimmy Savile, and a segment about a "tribe" living in a garden centre. Neither David Mitchell nor Robert Webb has publicly commented on the cuts. The BBC said it acted in consultation with the programme makers.

Comedian Dom Joly blasted the move, insisting Mitchell and Webb's 'intent was not to be racist.'

Hat Trick Productions co-founder Jimmy Mulville warned it must not become 'the thin end of a wedge where we cut things out.'

The BBC previously axed blackface sketches from 'Little Britain', 'Come Fly With Me' and 'The Mighty Boosh' in 2020.

MoreThe IndependentMitchell and Webb comedy sketches axed from iPlayer over racism fearsGB NewsBBC removes episodes of classic comedy over racism fears: 'No longer works today'MetroBBC removes 11 offensive Mitchell and Webb sketches that no longer ‘work today’
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