The League of Gentleman creator Mark Gatiss backs trigger warnings on television
The League of Gentlemen co-creator Mark Gatiss has backed the use of trigger warnings on TV shows and films, because it is better than just ditching programmes from the past.
Mark Gatiss has backed trigger warnings on old TV shows and movies because it allows them to keep being broadcast rather than be pulled from schedules - like his comedy series The League of Gentleman.
Gatiss, 59, saw his surreal show removed by Netflix in 2020 amid concerns about the use of blackface in the sketch featuring circus ringmaster Papa Lazarou, who kidnapped women on the programme and became famous for his catchphrase "your my wife now".
The Sherlock co-creator believes that sort of censorship is harmful and it is better to allow viewers to make their own minds up about what they are watching after reading a disclaimer.
Appearing on the Scarred For Life podcast, he said: “Talking Pictures TV, before they show an old film, they just show a little disclaimer which says, ‘This reflects the attitudes of the time’, and then you watch the film.
“It’s a healthier way of looking at anything. If you pretend it never happened, it’s like everything was some strange showbiz utopia.
"I think it’s much more important to talk about it then to just put it in a box and pretend it never happened."
The League of Gentleman originally ran on the BBC from 1999 to 2002, and combined dark humour and horror.
It was a cult hit thanks to characters like transsexual taxi driver Barbara, diabolical butcher Hilary Briss and murderous married siblings Edward and Tubbs.
Gatiss created the show with Jeremy Dyson, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith and all but Dyson first met when they were students at Bretton Hall College of Education.
The Bookish star says it was pure luck that brought him, Steve and Reece first together and he feels very fortunate that the three met and became friends over their shared love of horror and comedy and then went on to create The League of Gentlemen.
He said: "I just thank my lucky stars that it happened, because in that sliding doors sort of way it could easily have not, it’s just luck. We were drawn together by our shared sense of humour and a lot of that was to do with our shared love of horror films and the same character comedy. My god, it was a very lucky day.”
