Matt Lucas & David Walliams confirm they’ve started new series of Little Britain – with major changes to avoid backlash
LITTLE Britain will get a woke makeover, Matt Lucas has admitted.
Along with comedy partner David Walliams he is to work with a diverse range of writers and actors on the reboot.
The duo previously said sorry for their use of blackface and racial stereotyping in the BBC sketch show which ran from 2003 to 2006.
Matt, 49, said of the planned new version: “The show will be different in many ways.
“We are talking about how we can have diverse talent on screen and in the writers’ room and conceive it as something which is just not about me and David playing absolutely everyone.
“That is something we should have done but didn’t do back then.
“But we were making the show at the same time as many other people who were doing what we were doing and had that approach.”
Characters unlikely to return include the trans Emily and Florence, teen chav Vicky Pollard and Desiree DeVere — David, 52, in blackface.
Little Britain episodes carry a warning online.
Matt said: “Because some people are upset about what we do, or what we have done, out of respect to those people I don’t talk about it publicly because I don’t want to cause further upset to people who were upset.
“I totally accept there are different opinions.
“I accept people feel very differently from others and I respect everyone’s opinion from wherever they come from on this subject. I see things differently now to how we did.
“Things have changed and I respect that.”