Fawlty Towers ‘Don’t mention the war’ episode removed from UKTV
Written by News on 12/06/2020
One of the most famous episodes of 1970s sitcom Fawlty Towers has been removed from a streaming service because it has “racial slurs”.
UKTV, which is BBC-owned, said it had temporarily made Fawlty Towers episode The Germans unavailable while it carries out a review.
The episode, first aired in 1975, showed hotel owner Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, goose-stepping while shouting “don’t mention the war” in front of a group of German tourists.
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It also has scenes where Major Gowen uses offensive language when talking about the West Indies cricket team which had already been cut by some broadcasters, according to reports.
A UKTV spokesman said: “UKTV has temporarily removed an episode of Fawlty Towers, The Germans, from Gold’s Box Set.
“The episode contains racial slurs so we are taking the episode down while we review it. We regularly review older content to ensure it meets audience expectations and are particularly aware of the impact of outdated language.
“Some shows carry warnings and others are edited. We want to take time to consider our options for this episode.”
HBO Max has temporarily removed 1939 civil war epic Gone With The Wind because of its “racial depictions” and iPlayer removed Little Britain following complaints about the use of blackface in some of its sketches.
It comes amid protests led by the Black Lives Matter movement which began in the US but have spread around the world.
The protests were prompted by the death of George Floyd, a black man killed when a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
(c) Sky News 2020: Fawlty Towers ‘Don’t mention the war’ episode removed from UKTV
