One Show presenter Amol Rajan wins huge praise over his report on Little Britain and racism

Amol Rajan, a regular host on The One Show, won huge praise from BBC viewers after they said he gave a ‘masterclass’ in reporting on last night’s News at Ten – and he later revealed he’d delivered it on just ‘three hours’ sleep’.

The programme’s Media Editor admitted he’d ‘never had such a positive reaction’ to a live report, after he updated anchor Huw Edwards on yesterday’s removal of Little Britain from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox over concerns of racism.  

Rajan thanked viewers after praise poured in on his ‘fluent, clear & balanced’ reporting – and admitted he was ‘near delirious’ after getting just three hours’ sleep because of his nine-month-old baby daughter.  

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After updating Edwards live in the BBC study on the story, Rajan, who has a son and daughter with wife Charlotte Faircloth, took to Instagram to reveal his exhaustion and surprise at viewers’ gushing reaction. 

He wrote: ‘Blimey. Never had such a positive response to a live on the #BBCNewsTen. Thanks, genuinely; I appreciate it more than you might imagine. 

‘Good moment to confess I had three hours sleep last night, so I am in a state of some delirium.’

@andy_travels wrote: ‘Extremely impressive how you can recite that almost word for word yet make it flow completely naturally like you’re coming up with the words on the spot. That’s a talent.’ 

@DerbyCounter ‘You are my favourite tv journalist. By a country mile. How do you pack so much clear analysis into such a small space? Brilliant.’ 

@LaraLewington praised: ‘That was a masterclass in how to answer a two-way… and you don’t even look tired (congratulations on the baby).’  

Yesterday, it was announced that Little Britain has been removed from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox amid concerns that the use of blackface characters on the series is no longer acceptable.

In an apparent reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests, Netflix pulled the Matt Lucas, 46, and David Walliams, 48, series on Friday, along with the pair’s other comedy Come Fly With Me.

On Tuesday, the BBC and BritBox both confirmed they had also decided to remove Little Britain saying ‘times have changed’ since the show first aired.

The shows include scenes where the comedians portray characters from different ethnic backgrounds with the use of make-up. 

Similarly, Bo’ Selecta, which impersonated black stars such as Craig David, Trisha Goddard and Michael Jackson has been removed from All 4 after creator Leigh Francis recently issued a tearful apology. It is, however, still available on Prime Video.

It suggests an uncertain future for other popular comedy series which feature similar techniques, though many are still available to watch on streaming sites. 

League of Gentlemen, which features a blackface character, is still on both Netflix and BBC iPlayer, and is not set to be imminently taken off the latter.

When asked if more shows would be removed, a BBC spokesman told MailOnline: ‘The change only affects Little Britain.’ 

Friday’s decision by Netflix to remove Lucas and Walliams’ two series sparked anger from subscribers to the service, who were annoyed when they discovered the two shows had been dropped.

Journalist and former MEP Daniel Hannan was among those to speak out.

He wrote: ‘There is an unbearable smugness in rushing to condemn Ali G, Bo’ Selecta or other shows that were fine until the day before yesterday. As if to say, ‘You all thought this was fine, but look – I’m more sensitive than you’. Hmmm. Maybe you’re just more priggish.’

But the company is understood to have believed it was the right thing to do.

The move is likely to lead to calls for more outdated shows that may be seen as racist to be removed.  

Those angered by the move said they were ‘fuming’ and ‘gutted’ at the decision. 

Some viewers complained they were in the middle of watching the series. 

One viewer said people should be able to make their ‘own choices’.

But others have expressed growing unease about watching sketches which featured the comedians wearing make up to portray different races, amid claims it was offensive. 

One viewer said they were ‘shocked’ that it had been available. 

In Little Britain, David Walliams wore make up to play health-spa guest Desiree DeVere. In Come Fly With Me, he played ‘passenger liaison officer’ Moses Beacon and airline boss Omar Baba, while Lucas’ characters included coffee shop worker Precious Little.

The BBC’s iPlayer was airing the first series of Little Britain which included a scene where the pair were made-up to look like blackface entertainers. But has now taken the series down.

A spokesman for the BBC said: ‘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.’ 

BritBox, the streaming service from ITV and the BBC, which had been showing three series of Little Britain, has now also removed the show.

It said last night: ‘Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox. Come Fly With Me has not been available on the service for six months.’

There had been a mixed reaction at the weekend to Netflix’s move.

One wrote on Twitter: ‘Absolutely furious that Little Britain and Come Fly With Me have been taken off Netflix.’

Another said: ‘Little Britain and Come Fly With Me have both been removed from Netflix….so now I can’t watch these shows because you don’t like it?

Matt Lucas has previously said if he could go back and remake the previous series of Little Britain he would not play black characters.

In 2017 he told Big Issue: ‘If I could go back and do Little Britain again, I wouldn’t make those jokes about transvestites. I wouldn’t play black characters.

‘Basically, I wouldn’t make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I’d do now.’

He added there had not been ‘bad intent there’ and they had simply been showing off about ‘what a diverse bunch of people we could play.’

In the interview Lucas said it was ‘lazy’ for white people to ‘get a laugh just by playing black characters’. 

David Walliams also said that the show would definitely make a comeback but acknowledged he would change things. 

He said: ‘I would say there will definitely be some more Little Britain coming. I can’t say when exactly but at the right time and place. It was fun coming back for radio because that’s where we started.’

He added that he would ‘definitely do it differently’ in today’s cultural landscape. 

The decision comes as Netflix was earlier this year said to have been in discussions with Lucas and Walliams about making a newseries of Little Britain for the streaming giant, in a lucrative deal.

MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for Walliams and Lucas for further comment.

Representatives for Netflix and Prime Video and have also been approached.