10 Moments Edited Out Of Your Favourite TV Shows
4. The Major's Racial Slurs - Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is unquestionably one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, though it's also been subject to some self-imposed censorship from the BBC over the years.
Back in 2013, the 'Beeb re-edited the final episode of the first series, "The Germans," removing a brief scene in which Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley) casually refers to West Indians as the "n-word," and Indians as "wogs."
This sparked a minor public outcry over those who felt that the BBC were censoring legacy content, though they responded that they re-edited the episode to both reflect societal changes and allow them to air the episode in an earlier time slot.
Though some rights holders have since aired the episode in its original form, it was removed entirely by UKTV earlier this year following the death of George Floyd.
This prompted star John Cleese to defend the episode: "The Major was an old fossil left over from decades before. We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them. If they can't see that, if people are too stupid to see that, what can one say?"
Cleese isn't wrong about the intent of the joke, though many nevertheless felt that it simply wasn't the right time for networks to be making light of such inflammatory terms, regardless of intent.
The episode was restored by UKTV shortly thereafter with a content warning, though it'll certainly be interesting to see how future TV airings of the episode handle the issue.