Harry Potter author JK Rowling has responded to the BBC’s removal of That Mitchell and Webb Look from iPlayer after 11 sketches from the show, which ran from 2006 to 2010, were taken off the site.
It came this week after the broadcaster deemed some specific scenes unsuitable for modern audiences.
The Bafta-winning sketch show, which featured David Mitchell and Robert Webb across four series, was recently made available on the streaming platform to celebrate its 20th anniversary, but not in its entirety.
A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
David Mitchell and Robert Webb in 2007 | GETTY
The programme grew out of a Radio 4 series called That Mitchell and Webb Sound, which launched in 2003. Both performers had already become household names through Channel 4’s Peep Show.
According to The Times, the excised material includes a sketch in which the comedy duo satirised racism whilst wearing blackface, as well as a scene featuring war re-enactors in similar make-up.
A segment depicting a contestant on a makeover programme wearing a burka was also among those pulled, alongside a sketch about a “tribe” inhabiting a garden centre.
Responding to an article highlighting the missing episodes on Tuesday, writer Ms Rowling was among those to fire back at the concept.
Stop treating the adult population like children and stop allowing adults who behave like despotic toddlers to decree what the rest of us are allowed to watch. https://t.co/16s2EZqovQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 22, 2026
She wrote on X: “Stop treating the adult population like children and stop allowing adults who behave like despotic toddlers to decree what the rest of us are allowed to watch.”
Mr Rowling’s response divided her own followers, who took to the comments to debate the move.
One penned in agreement: “How long now before every book, show and film comes with official warnings?”
A second shared: “I don’t understand how they choose which shows have warnings and which get removed. The BBC are a public service broadcaster, shouldn’t the criteria be publicly available for scrutiny, at the very least? Shouldn’t there be some sort of right of appeal?”
JK Rowling shared her views on the debate surrounding removal of certain TV episodes
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PA“The whole point of despotism is to treat everyone else like children – controlling their behavior and punishing them for your own amusement. That’s the place the world has come to,” another agreed.
However, others questioned why Ms Rowling took issue with the removal of potentially offensive content.
One asked: “Why do you support keeping racist co rent available? What do you find funny about racism?”
“Girl, Writing a children’s book does not mean anyone is interested in anything else you might have to say!!” another fumed.
That Mitchell and Webb Look aired on the BBC from 2006 to 2010
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BBC
One more reasoned: “I don’t agree with what they are doing, but I know why they are doing it.”
Further removed content from the show reportedly includes a joke referencing Jimmy Savile, an impersonation of the late celebrity chef Gary Rhodes making homophobic remarks, a rude portrayal of Gandhi and material involving Bill Oddie.
The show’s most beloved recurring segments, including Numberwang, Hennimore, Sir Digby Chicken Caesar, and The Event, remain intact on the platform.
Ms Rowling wasn’t the only famous face to criticise the BBC’s decision.
Dom Joly, the Trigger Happy TV comedian, condemned the BBC’s decision as “classic BBC overkill” and “hysterical censorship.”
“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 okay to do that,” Mr Joly told The Times.
“But it’s so clear that Mitchell and Webb are not doing that. Their intent was not to be racist.”