Peter Kay defends controversial ‘Little Britain’ sketches: “Comedy is such a minefield”

Peter Kay has defended Little Britain creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams, saying that comedy can be “such a minefield”.

The comedian discussed the series in his new book TV: Big Adventures On The Small Screen, where he described criticism of the show in recent years as a “shame”.

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“It was all very far from being politically correct but that’s what made it funny,” Kay said, while recalling his cameo in the show’s special Little Britain Abroad (via LadBible). “It probably wouldn’t get made now.

“Sadly, Matt and David have taken a lot of flak in the past few years for the work they did. I think that’s a shame.”

He added: “Comedy is such a minefield, with political correctness changing it all the time. Sometimes for the greater good, most of the time not.”

Kay went on to criticise the press for writing “clickbait” stories about risqué comedy based on social media reactions.

“Everybody’s a critic on social media,” Kay added. “Something or somebody gets ‘slammed on Twitter’ (which might only be by a handful of people) and the press jump all over it.

“They sensationalise a story in order to generate clickbait for themselves and their websites. It can really damage or destroy somebody’s career.”

Little Britain was removed from BBC iPlayer in 2020 following criticism over the show’s use of blackface and other racial stereotypes. It was later reinstated on the streaming service in 2022 with a number of edits to “better reflect the cultural landscape” of today.

Along with making a cameo in Little Britain Abroad, Kay collaborated with Lucas and Walliams on a version of ‘(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles’ with The Proclaimers for Comic Relief in 2007.

Elsewhere in his book, Kay expressed interest in reviving his comedy series Phoenix Nights for a feature film.

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