BBC is accused of 'classic overkill' as it cuts Mitchell and Webb sketches over 'racism fears'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 20:27 EDT, 20 September 2026 | Updated: 21:13 EDT, 20 September 2026 The BBC has been accused of 'classic overkill' after it removed Mitchell and Webb sketches on iPlayer over 'racism fears'. All four series of That Mitchell and Webb Look - starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb - have been added to the streaming platform to mark its 20th anniversary. But 11 of the sketches have been scratched out. It is unclear whether the comedians were consulted over the cuts. Among the vanished scenes are a blacked-up war re-enactment, a 'tribe' living in a garden centre, and a burqa-wearing contestant in a makeover show.Dom Joly, the comedian behind Trigger Happy TV, described the removals as 'classic BBC overkill'. He said cutting sketches that satirised racism was 'hysterical censorship'. One erased scene features Mitchell and Webb as English Civil War re-enactors who are bored of portraying Roundheads and Cavaliers.Seeking entertainment, they black up and instead recreate a battle in the Democratic Republic of Congo between government forces and a rebel militia. Mitchell asks: 'Are you absolutely sure that this isn't racist?' David Mitchell (pictured, left) and Robert Webb (pictured, right) starred in That Mitchell and Webb Look from 2006 to 2010. Here the pair are pictured re-enacting Sir Walter Raleigh naming his latest discovery Virginia Comedian Dom Joly (pictured) criticised the BBC's decision to cut certain sketches, calling it 'classic overkill' They agree to stop at the first sign of racism - which they conclude comes moments later, when one threatens the other with a machete. Mr Joly told The Times: '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.' That Mitchell and Webb Look, which ran from September 2006 to August 2010 on BBC Two, won BAFTA awards for comedy. It is not the first time that the BBC has scratched scenes from old comedy shows on its streaming platforms over fears they would now be seen as offensive. The BBC removed both Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, from its platforms over concerns at the use of blackface, brownface, and racial stereotyping. At the time, a BBC spokesperson said 'times have changed' since the programmes were aired. A BBC spokesperson said: '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.'