A beloved BBC sitcom has become the latest to be slapped with trigger warnings of ‘discriminatory and offensive’ language on the broadcaster’s streaming service.
The comedy has aired on BBC One for almost twenty years, making it the second longest-running British sitcom after Last Of The Summer Wine, which concluded in 2010.
With its 14th season having delighted fans and critics alike, the adored comedy Not Going Out now features trigger warnings on several of its episodes, including from newer series.
The sitcom follows the life of working-class builder Lee, played by The 1% Club host Lee Mack, as he navigates finding love and dealing with his woeful lack of motivation.
The series stars Sally Breton as Lucy and, in its early days, featured Tim Vine as Lee’s best friend Tim.Â
Season 2 episode 2 is titled ‘Gay,’ and sees Lee’s best friend’s sister ask him to pretend he’s gay for the sake of keeping up appearances after an embarrassing comment she made to a work colleague.
Beloved BBC sitcom Not Going Out has become the latest to be slapped with trigger warnings of ‘discriminatory and offensive’ language (Pictured: Lee Mack and Sally Breton)
The comedy has aired on BBC One for almost twenty years, making it the second longest-running British sitcom after Last Of The Summer Wine, which concluded in 2010
Several episodes have warnings of ‘discriminatory language, offensive content or language which may offend’.
It comes as an award-winning British sitcom was slapped with trigger warnings for ‘discriminatory language’ – despite its stars and creator insisting the show was never offensive.
ITV has placed caution notices on all 28 episodes of Rising Damp, the 1970s comedy widely regarded as one of the best-loved sitcoms of its era.
The alerts on its streaming service ITVX warn of ‘discriminatory language and attitudes,’ with one BAFTA-winning instalment carrying an additional note about ‘racial references that may offend’.
The series starred Leonard Rossiter as Rupert Rigsby, a miserly and lecherous landlord presiding over a dilapidated Victorian boarding house.
Running for four seasons between 1974 and 1978, it also featured Richard Beckinsale, Don Warrington and Frances de la Tour as the prim spinster Miss Jones.
Much of the humour centred on Rigsby’s awkward interactions with his tenants, including Philip, played by Warrington, who once mischievously claimed to be the son of an African chief purely to unsettle his suspicious landlord.
While such scenes are now being flagged for modern audiences, Warrington has previously defended the programme from accusations of racism.
With its 14th season having delighted fans and critics alike, the adored comedy Not Going Out now features trigger warnings on several of its episodes, including from newer series
The sitcom follows the life of working-class builder Lee, played by The 1% Club host Lee Mack, as he navigates finding love and dealing with his woeful lack of motivation
Speaking in 2022, the Death in Paradise star said the sitcom should not be sanitised to fit today’s sensitivities because ‘its intentions were good’.
He explained: ‘The show was never cynical… the standard of work was just so great.’
Warrington, who is black, added: ‘A lot of black people still say to me that their parents would call them down from their bedrooms whenever it was on, because of the way it showed a black man on TV who wasn’t being put down or abused.’
Series creator Eric Chappell also rejected claims that the comedy was harmful, insisting Rigsby was not written as a racist caricature.
He said: ‘Rigsby was not a racist or a bigot, but he was prejudiced and suspicious of strangers.’
The sitcom went on to win a BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy in 1978 and was later adapted into a feature film in 1980.
Its legacy endured long after it left screens, ranking 27th in the BBC’s 2004 poll of the nation’s 100 best sitcoms – higher than any other ITV entry. The top spot was claimed by Only Fools and Horses.Â
Rossiter’s performance as Rigsby was central to the programme’s success. Known for his razor-sharp timing and expressive delivery, the actor earned a reputation as one of Britain’s finest comic performers.
Tragically, he died just six years after Rising Damp ended, suffering a fatal heart attack in his dressing room at the Lyric Theatre, London, aged 57. He had been preparing to go on stage in Joe Orton’s play Loot.