Ant and Dec apologise for blackface sketches on Saturday Night Takeaway

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 13d

Ant and Dec issue an apology for previous use of blackface in sketches for Saturday Night Takeaway.

Ant and Dec have issued an apology about their previous use of blackface in sketches for Saturday Night Takeaway.

A resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement following the horrific death of George Floyd last month has led broadcasters to re-evaluate the appropriateness of their content, with shows such as Little Britain and The League of Gentlemen being removed from on-demand services.

Ant and Dec have previously blacked up for undercover pranks on Takeaway, including pretending to be two Jamaican women in a 2003 skit.

In a statement on Twitter, the popular pair said: "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steps to ensure footage was taken down, and have again recently confirmed with ITV that these segments, and any other historical content that could cause offence, does not appear on either the ITV Hub or the Saturday Night Takeaway YouTube channel."

Yesterday Netflix pulled Chris Lilley's back catalogue of shows from its service, while HBO Max in the US has temporarily dropped Gone With The Wind - the highest-grossing film of all time - due to race sensitivity concerns.