Ant and Dec issue apology for ‘impersonating people of colour’ on Saturday Night Takeaway

Ant and Dec have issued an apology to their Twitter followers for ‘impersonating people of colour’ during ‘comedy’ sketches on Saturday Night Takeaway.

They took to the micro-blogging site on Wednesday evening, posting: ‘During past episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway we impersonated people of colour in the undercover segment of the show.

‘We realise that this was wrong and want to say that we are sincerely sorry to everyone that was offended.

‘We purposely stopped doing this several years ago and certainly would not make these sketches today 

‘We had already taken steps to ensure footage was taken down, and have again recently confirmed with ITV that these segments, and any other historical content that could cause offence, does not appear on either the ITV Hub or the Saturday Night Takeaway YouTube channel.’

Last year, the pair were slammed when old footage of the duo in blackface resurfaced.

During some of their many Ant & Dec Undercover sketches on the hit ITV show, the presenting duo changed their skin colour and wore prosthetics to portray made up characters in an effort to trick their famous friends.

One of the most controversial skits saw them dress up as two fictional Jamaican women, ‘Patty and Bernice’, in an attempt to prank Emmerdale cast members, in 2003.

In the segment the Geordie pair acted as unruly extras in the Woolpack pub, behaving eccentrically in an effort to distract Louise Appleton (played by Emily Symons) and Diane Sugden (played by Elizabeth Estensen).

The prank was certainly successful, with the soap cast falling about with laughter as they realised they had been duped.

However, an old clip of Ant and Dec discussing their transformation into ‘Patty and Bernice’ on the Saturday Night Takeaway DVD also resurfaced, and makes for an uneasy watch.

In the clip, Ant appears to be amused as he recalls the particular sketch, joking: ‘It was funny sitting in a room, learning Jamaican, picking dresses, trying on false nails, was something I didn’t think I’d ever, ever do.’

Dec, mimicking a Jamaican accent adds: ‘We had to find who Patty and Bernice were, so we’d have to go “Well, I think Bernice probably came to England on a boat”.’ 

Ant and Dec impersonated people of other races and ethnicities on multiple occasions while filming their Ant & Dec Undercover sketches.   

In 2004, the pair dressed up as two Japanese girls, with prosthetics, elaborate make-up and exaggerated accents used to transform them into Suki and Keiko.

During the skit, the Geordie pair attempted to trick the Coronation Street cast into believing they were in love with Todd Grimshaw, played by Bruno Langley.

In 2005, Ant dressed up as an Arab man, during another Saturday Night Takeaway prank, in which they targeted Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell.

For the skit, Ant sported a keffiyeh – a traditional Middle Eastern headdress – and traditional Arabic clothing.   

Ant and Dec’s representatives declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline at the time.

This follows another controversial segment on the show, which took place in March of this year.

Singer Anne-Marie took to social media to issue her own mortified apology after she appeared in a sketch on the most recent series of Takeaway, in which Ant and Dec wore headbands displaying Japan’s Rising Sun flag. 

The pop star, 28, sang during the segment, as the men pranced around on set behind her, brandishing the flag which was adopted as the naval ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the 19th century. 

So controversial is the symbol that South Korea’s sports ministry made the request to the International Olympic Committee last September to remove it from appearing at the Tokyo Olympics – even though the Olympics have since been postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

They claimed the flag defies the peaceful spirit of the Olympics as it is a symbol of Japan’s imperialist past.

Anne-Marie took to Twitter to apologise to her 679,000 followers for the use of the symbol. 

‘I sincerely apologise to all those who were affected and hurt by my appearance last night on a UK TV [show],’ she said. ‘I want you to know that I had nothing to do with the costumes on this sketch.

‘Unfortunately education on this part of the history wasn’t done and I am also hurt by the pain this signifies for so many people.

‘I am truly sorry and I promise you that this will not happen again.

‘Our team is talking to the TV station, working on taking down the footage so that it does not cause any more pain [sic].’

ITV told MailOnline afterwards: ‘We apologise for any offence caused during the End of the Show Show by the costumes worn. 

‘This was clearly unintended and we have taken steps to re-edit that part of the episode for the Hub and for repeat broadcasts.’ 

MailOnline contacted Ofcom regarding the sketch at the time. The governing body said the show had received several complaints, none of which related to the sketch with Anne-Marie. 

Ofcom said two complaints had been against a segment with Anthony Joshua and another had been to do with a cake being dropped on the floor.

Taking to Twitter, one viewer replied to Anne-Marie: ‘Thank you for apologising for that, and I’m glad you mentioned it without condoning it. 

‘I hope this never happens again. From Korean fans cheering for Anne-Marie Smiling face with smiling eyes [sic].’

A another typed: ‘The rising sun flag signifies the most painful era of Korean history during WWII, and I am thankful that you addressed the problem quickly. Love you as always xxx [sic].’

‘I fully understand your mind. I wish you are OK. And I hope to see you in Korea soon. Take care of your health and love you xx [sic],’ wrote another. 

The Rising Sun flag is currently flown by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and was originally used by feudal warlords in Japan during the Edo Period.

It was then adopted as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1870 under the Meiji Government.

And and Dec’s apology comes as Little Britain was 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 Monday, the BBC and BritBox both confirmed they had also decided to remove Little Britain saying ‘times have changed’ since the show first aired. When asked if more shows would be removed, a BBC spokesman told MailOnline: ‘The change only affects Little Britain.’

Following this, The League Of Gentlemen was pulled from Netflix for its blackface character Papa Lazarou – as more films and TV shows face removal from streaming services over ‘racist’ stereotypes.

The controversial character was played by white actor Reece Shearsmith in the BBC Two comedy series, and has been heavily criticised over the years for his painted black face. 

The show was pulled from Netflix in the UK ahead of its expiry date of June 19, alongside Canadian series The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour which also features two characters in blackface.

Netflix has also removed comedian Chris Lilley’s controversial shows Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, Jonah From Tonga and Angry Boys from the platform in Australia and New Zealand, Deadline reported.

His most recent series Lunatics, which was created in collaboration with Netflix, is still available to stream despite accusations of racism and blackface in Lilley’s portrayal of a trans-racial woman.

Gone With The Wind has also been temporarily removed by HBO Max from its streaming platform after it was criticised for romanticising slavery.

The 1939 Civil War epic, starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, is based on a novel written three years previously by Margaret Mitchell.

It tells the story of a turbulent romance during the Civil War and Reconstruction period. Hattie McDaniel, who would have been 127 this month, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.

The film has been viewed through a more critical lens in recent years, with many questioning whether a film that glosses over the horrors of slavery should still be shown.  

The League Of Gentlemen, which was created by the BBC, and three of Chris Lilley’s shows are still currently available to watch through the broadcaster’s streaming service. 

Stars of The League of Gentleman have previously defended the controversial Papa Lazarou character, with Shearsmith telling the Independent in February: ‘It was not me doing a black man. It was always this clown-like make-up and we just came up with what we thought was the scariest idea to have in a sort of Child Catcher-like way. And I don’t think we ever had any complaints then.’

The show, which stars Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Shearsmith, follows a number of residents from the fictional town of Royston Vasey. It premiered on BBC Two in 1999.    

Its removal from Netflix follows All 4’s decision to axe Bo’ Selecta, which impersonated black stars such as Craig David, Mel B, Trisha Goddard and Michael Jackson.

It was pulled from All 4 after creator Leigh Francis recently issued a tearful apology. It is, however, still available on Prime Video.

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

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.’ 

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 the first place.

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.

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.’ 

When Leigh Francis tearfully addressed the issues surrounding Bo’ Selecta, he said he had been thinking about the Channel 4 show and had not realised at the time how offensive it was.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: ‘We support Leigh in his decision to reflect on Bo’ Selecta in light of recent events and we’ve agreed with him to remove the show from the All 4 archive.’