The BBC has removed 11 sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look after the award-winning comedy series returned to BBC iPlayer.

The BAFTA-winning programme, written by and starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, originally ran for four series between 2006 and 2010.

However, viewers watching the show on iPlayer will not see every sketch from its original television run, with the BBC confirming that a number have been omitted following consultation with the programme makers.

A BBC spokesperson said: “This is a 20-year-old sketch show; in consultation with the programme makers, we have included the ones that still work today and not the ones that don’t.”

The 11 removed sketches reportedly include material involving Mitchell and Webb appearing as war re-enactors in blackface, a makeover-show contestant wearing a burka and a sketch involving an indigenous “tribe” living inside a garden centre.

Other omitted material reportedly includes jokes about Jimmy Savile, a depiction of Mahatma Gandhi and an impersonation of the late chef Gary Rhodes involving homophobic remarks.

One of the programme’s best-known sketches, featuring Nazi soldiers questioning whether they are “the baddies”, remains available.

The decision follows a wider debate over how broadcasters should handle older comedy containing material that would be considered inappropriate or offensive by contemporary standards.

Some broadcasters have previously chosen to add content warnings to archive programmes, while others have edited or withdrawn individual episodes or scenes.

In this case, the BBC has chosen not to restore all of the original material when making the programme available through iPlayer.