A number of popular British TV shows have been removed from streaming services due to controversial content that was too scandalous to broadcast.

Streamers like NetflixNOW TV, Britbox and BBC took a stand against the shows for their use of racial slurs, sexist language and blackface, because “times have changed.”

These include once-popular shows such as Little Britain, Come Fly With Me, Fawlty Towers and Bo Selecta.

Even Ant and DecemberIt is Saturday evening takeaway has had episodes removed due to the presenters’ use of blackface.

In recent years, major stars have been asked to apologize after admitting their shows had caused offence.

Matt Lucas said some of his Little Britain sketches were “fake”, while the Bo’ Selecta star Leigh Francois saying he “didn’t realize how offensive his work was” at the time.

Here’s a complete list of UK TV shows you can no longer watch and details on why they’ve been removed from streaming platforms.

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway

Saturday Night Takeaway has had its first episodes removed from streaming sites

During Early episodes of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway between 2003 and 2004, the popular ITV sketch show featured some controversial moments.

The Geordie duo dressed as Jamaican women and Japanese girls using exaggerated makeup and accents and were therefore removed from ITV’s catch-up service.

The presenters apologized, saying: “We realize this was a mistake and would like to say that we are sincerely sorry to everyone we offended.

“We intentionally stopped doing this several years ago and we certainly wouldn’t do these sketches today.”

Little Brittany

Little Britain has been banned from major streaming platforms

Little Britain first hit the box in 2003.

Starring David Walliams and Matt Lucas, it was a TV favorite across the country when it first aired, but has now been removed from Netflix, NOW TV, Britbox and BBC iPlayer.

This is due to its controversial portrayal of black and Asian characters as well as gay and disabled characters.

Speaking about the sitcom’s axing, a BBC spokesperson said: “Many historical shows are available on BBC iPlayer, which we review regularly.

“Times have changed since Little Britain was first broadcast, so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.”

Two years later, Little Britain returned to BBC iPlayer, but there were major changes to the episodes.

Peep show

Peep Show hit screens 20 years ago, as the horrifyingly relatable lives of Mark and Jez unfolded and attracted fans across the world.

An episode from the second series of Peep Show in which Jez (Robert Webb) wears blackface has been re-edited for Netflix.

But the unedited version remains on Channel 4’s streaming service.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “We do not believe that erasing our creative history is a silver bullet to the problems affecting our society today.”

Come fly with me

Come Fly With Me received backlash for blackface

Come Fly With Me was David and Matt’s follow-up series to Little Britain, but was set in an airport.

It was removed from major streaming sites like BBC iplayer and Netflix for featuring blackface.

Creators and stars David and Matt have apologized for any offense caused by their programs.

Matt tweeted in 2020: “David and I have both spoken publicly in recent years about our regret over playing characters of other races. Once again, we would like to point out that this was an error and we are truly sorry.

Bo Selecta

The reinvention comes after Craig David and Trisha Goddard criticized Leigh for her “racist” portrayal of him on her Channel 4 sketch show Bo’ Selecta!

The Channel 4 comedy has been removed from All4.

This was due to Leigh Francis’ portrayal of Michael Jackson, Craig David and Trisha Goddard using latex masks.

The actor has since apologized, saying in an Instagram video: “I’ve played a lot of black people. At the time, I didn’t think about it, people didn’t say anything, I’m not going to blame others.

“I didn’t realize how offensive it was at the time.”

Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers has been temporarily removed from British television

Fawlty Towers had one of its episodes, The Germans (1975), temporarily removed from British television for “racial slurs” and “outdated language”.

The episode showed the character Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley) repeatedly using the N-word in reference to members of the West Indies cricket team.

It was removed from the platform while the streamer conducted an investigation.

The League of Gentlemen

The League of Gentlemen has been removed from Netflix

The League of Gentlemen follows the lives of four bizarre characters in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in the north of England.

It was removed from Netflix due to the use of blackface.

However, the series remains available to stream on BBC iPlayer with co-creator Reece Shearsmith stating that his character Papa Lazarou was meant to be black.

“It wasn’t me making a black man,” he said.

“There was always this clown makeup, and we just came up with what we thought was the scariest idea ever, like a Child Catcher.

The mighty Boosh

The Mighty Boosh has been removed from Netflix

Netflix has removed all three series of Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt’s BBC series The Mighty Boosh.

It was removed from the streamer due to Fielding’s performance, which saw him don dreadlocks and black paint to portray the ghost of a famous jazz musician in a number of episodes.

The comedy remained available on BBC iPlayer.