Fury as BBC axes Mitchell & Webb sketches including scenes with Olivia Coleman over material ‘that no longer works’

THE BBC has been accused of “classic overkill” after axing a string of Mitchell and Webb sketches. The Beeb removed 11 skits from the Bafta-winning comedy show after all four series were added to iPlayer to mark its 20th anniversary. Robert Webb and Andrew Mitchell are behind the cult favourite sketch show Credit: Channel 4 / Mark Johnson Olivia Colman and Robert Webb in one of the axed scenes Credit: BBC Among the cuts are scenes featuring actress Olivia Colman in a racist war re-enactment and a burqa-wearing makeover-show contestant. Comedian Dom Joly, the man behind Trigger Happy TV, branded the move “hysterical censorship” as he blasted the BBC. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! He 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 OK to do that. “But it’s so clear that Mitchell and Webb are not doing that. Their intent was not to be racist.” The BBC said they have removed scenes that do not ‘work’ today Credit: BBC David Mitchell, left, and Robert Webb arrive for the British Academy Television Awards in 2007 Credit: PA:Press Association The Beeb said the cuts were made “in consultation with the programme makers” but did not confirm whether David Mitchell and Robert Webb were involved. One of the removed sketches sees the pair playing English Civil War re-enactors who grow tired of portraying Roundheads and Cavaliers. They instead black up to recreate a conflict between government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a rebel militia. Mitchell asks whether they are “absolutely sure that this isn’t racist” before the pair agree to stop at the first sign of racism. Most read in TV Seconds later, after one threatens the other with a machete, they halt the scene and conclude: “It’s racist. Very, very racist. Shame.” Another deleted sketch parodies television makeover shows, with Mitchell and Webb confronted by a woman wearing a burqa. The pair then discuss whether the material is offensive, with Webb admitting: “I’m not sure we quite know what we’re trying to say.” Mitchell responds by suggesting people can worry too much about what is offensive, before removing the burqa to reveal blackface. Webb says: “I see you’ve started blacking up again.” Joly said broadcasters could use warnings on older programmes if they believed they were necessary. He added: “If you really, really have to, put some sort of warning before it. But even that is so patronising.” Two further cuts feature Webb encountering an apparently indigenous “tribe” living in a garden centre. The sketches parody films and documentaries about encounters with indigenous communities, including jokes about the garden centre’s expanding home and gift section. Other axed material includes Webb impersonating late TV chef Gary Rhodes – making homophobic remarks, a sketch entitled Rude Gandhi and three Gilbert & Sullivan sketches. Jimmy Mulville, co-founder of Hat Trick Productions, said he understood the dilemma facing the corporation but warned against losing nuance. He said there was a difference between expressing bigoted views and depicting bigotry to ridicule it, citing the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and its racist character Alf Garnett. Mulville said: “Personally … I wouldn’t censor anything.” He acknowledged, however, that the blackface sketch was a more difficult case. A BBC spokeswoman 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.” Comment now