Episode of UK sitcom 'Fawlty Towers' pulled over racist slurs

One of the most memorable episodes of one of the most popular British sitcoms of all-time has been withdrawn from a U.K. streaming service because of numerous racial slurs. UKTV, a streaming service owned by the BBC, confirmed Friday that it was temporarily removing the 1975 Fawlty Towers episode “The Germans.”

In the episode, hotel owner Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese of “Monty Python” fame) is seen rocking back when a black man approaches him in the hospital where his wife Sybil is readying for an operation on an in-growing toenail, only to find out that he’s the doctor. But what's causing particular offense, is a scene involving one of the hotel's long-time guests, an elderly major, who uses deeply offensive language (the ‘N’ word) about the West Indies and India cricket teams.

“The episode contains racial slurs so we are taking the episode down while we review it," a spokesman for UKTV said. “We regularly review older content to ensure it meets audience expectations and are particularly aware of the impact of outdated language.” The spokesman said the company wants to “take time” to consider options.The full episode is still being aired on Youtube, Netflix and on Britbox, which is half-owned by the BBC, without any warnings or editing.

Cleese has criticized the decision, describing those who fail to see the episode is a critique of racism rather than an endorsement of it as “stupid.” He told The Age, an Australian newspaper, from his home in Los Angeles, that the major “was an old fossil” from decades past and that the program was making fun of his views.

While questioning attempts to airbrush the past, Cleese expressed his support for the aims of the Black Lives Matter protest movement. “At the moment there is a huge swell of anger and a really admirable feeling that we must make our society less discriminatory, and I think that part of it is very good,” he said.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/episode-uk-sitcom-fawlty-towers-pulled-racist-slurs-71216277