Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams apologise for performing in blackface on their shows

LITTLE Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas tonight apologised for performing as characters of other races in comedy sketches.

The pair, who have seen their shows pulled from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox, each made statements on Twitter tonight.

Matt, 46, wrote: “David and I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races.

“Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry.”

David, 48, posted the same message, but substituting his name for Matt’s.

Both Little Britain and Come Fly With Me are no longer available to watch on the online streaming sites amid the Black Lives Matter protests.

Little Britain included characters including a black woman called Desiree DeVere and Thai bride Ting Tong.

Come Fly With Me saw Matt as Jamaican coffee stand worker Precious Little and a Pakistani airport worker called Taaj, while David played airline owner Omar Baba.

A spokesperson for the BBC explained why both shows were being removed, saying: “There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.

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