BBC sitcom slapped with 'offensive' warning despite 20 years on air

A much-loved BBC sitcom has become the latest to be slapped with warnings for "discriminatory and offensive" language on the broadcaster's streaming service. Not Going Out, fronted by comic Lee Mack, has been a staple of BBC One for nearly 20 years and is now the second longest-running British sitcom after Last Of The Summer Wine. With its 14th season still pulling in fans, the comedy now carries caution notices on several episodes - including some of the newer instalments.

The sitcom follows the hapless life of working-class builder Lee, played by Mack, as he fumbles through relationships, work and family life. Sally Breton stars as his wife Lucy, while in the early years comedian Tim Vine featured as best mate Tim. One flagged episode is season two's "Gay", which sees Lee's friend's sister ask him to pretend to be gay after she embarrasses herself with a colleague. Warnings note "discriminatory language, offensive content or language which may offend."

It means an award-winning modern sitcom has been hit with the same trigger labels as vintage shows, despite stars and its creator insisting the comedy was never offensive. The row follows ITV placing similar caution notes on all 28 episodes of Rising Damp, the 1970s classic led by Leonard Rossiter.

The streaming service ITVX now warns of "discriminatory language and attitudes," with one BAFTA-winning episode adding a notice for "racial references that may offend".

Rising Damp ran from 1974 to 1978 and featured Rossiter as miserly landlord Rupert Rigsby in a dilapidated boarding house. It co-starred Richard Beckinsale, Frances de la Tour and Don Warrington, who played student Philip.

Much of the humour centred on Rigsby's awkward encounters with Philip, who mischievously told his landlord he was the son of an African chief to highlight Rigsby's prejudices. Those scenes are now being flagged for modern audiences, though Warrington has repeatedly defended the programme.

Speaking in 2022, the Death in Paradise star said the sitcom should not be sanitised: "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."

Creator Eric Chappell also rejected claims it was racist, insisting: "Rigsby was not a racist or a bigot, but he was prejudiced and suspicious of strangers."

The show went on to win a BAFTA in 1978 and was later adapted into a feature film. It still ranks as one of Britain's most cherished comedies - 27th in a BBC poll of the nation's 100 best sitcoms, above any other ITV entry.

Rossiter's performance as Rigsby was key to its success, but tragedy struck when he died of a heart attack in 1984 aged 57.