The BBC has edited several episodes of its children’s sketch comedy series Horrible Histories to comply with editorial standards for kids' television.
A full episode featuring storylines on slavery, Victorian child labour and chimney sweeps has also been pulled entirely by the public broadcaster.
The series is based on Terry Deary’s bestselling book collection of the same name, which uses facts and comedy to spark children's interest in history and culture.
The children's show originally broadcast on CBBC, debuting in 2009 and running for 11 series.
According to The Times, a minimum of seven sketches or scenes have been removed, including a segment showing Madame Tussaud crafting wax masks from decapitated heads.
In addition, a sketch featuring white actors using darker makeup to portray ancient Incas or Egyptians has been taken down from BBC iPlayer.
Actor Mathew Baynton, who played figures such as Guy Fawkes and William Shakespeare on the programme, previously acknowledged that its representation of Egyptians could be challenged.
Speaking to The Telegraph in 2022, he said: "We didn’t do blackface, for example, but you could argue that we did.
"Because I played Egyptians, you know, for example, where you’d get a spray tan, essentially, and stand in your pants."
The removed episode reportedly featured a sketch explaining ancient Roman slavery through an airline flight parody, showing enslaved rowers tied to oars and told they could not escape should the ship sink.
Another sketch highlighted Victorian child workers sent into narrow, hazardous chimneys, with a young boy pushed inside and instructed: "Try not to die."
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "The edits to Horrible Histories were made seven years ago, in consultation with the programme makers, to ensure the series meets our editorial guidelines for children’s programmes."
Horrible Histories author Terry Deary has also been approached for comment.
It comes after the BBC edited That Mitchell and Webb Look for iPlayer, cutting several sketches after deciding some of the show’s material "no longer works today".
A spokesperson for the BBC stated that the programme was re-edited following discussions with its creators.
"That Mitchell and Webb Look has been made available on BBC iPlayer," they said in a statement.
"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."
