The BBC has removed a number of sketches addressing racism and racial stereotypes from the Bafta-winning comedy series *That Mitchell and Webb Look* as it made the show available on its iPlayer streaming service to mark its 20th anniversary. Eleven sketches were cut from the four series, including segments featuring a racist war re-enactment, a makeover show contestant wearing a burqa, and a portrayal of an indigenous “tribe” living in a garden centre.

The decision has sparked debate over censorship and the handling of sensitive material in comedy. Dom Joly, a comedian known for *Trigger Happy TV*, criticised the removals as “classic BBC overkill” and described the cuts as “hysterical censorship,” arguing that the sketches were satirising racism rather than promoting it. He said the intent behind the sketches was not racist and that the BBC’s approach may be overly cautious.

One of the removed sketches depicts David Mitchell and Robert Webb as English Civil War re-enactors who, bored of playing Roundheads and Cavaliers, black up to portray a conflict between government forces and a rebel militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The characters themselves question the racism of their portrayal and decide to stop the re-enactment within moments, acknowledging its problematic nature during the sketch.

Another segment involves the comedians parodying television makeover shows, featuring a woman in a burqa. The sketch includes an internal dialogue between Mitchell and Webb about whether the content is offensive. Webb remarks on the uncertainty of their message, suggesting the sketch may be poking fun at sincerely held beliefs, while Mitchell responds that what is offensive to some could be “good, clean fun” to others. The bit concludes with Mitchell removing the burqa to reveal blackface.

A third excised sketch shows Webb encountering an apparent indigenous tribe living covertly in a garden centre. The tribe communicates in broken English, telling him he must stay with them and “learn our ways.” The sketch parodies the style of documentaries about indigenous peoples, concluding with the revelation that the tribe’s ancestral lands are being overtaken by the garden centre’s expansion.

Jimmy Mulville, co-founder of Hat Trick Productions, the company behind the show, said he understood the dilemmas faced by the BBC, stating the corporation is “in an impossible position” regarding such material.

The BBC stated that its review process involved consultation with the programme makers and that they chose to include sketches that “still work today” while excluding others that no longer resonate or may be considered problematic. However, the corporation did not specify whether David Mitchell and Robert Webb personally took part in the decision to remove the sketches.