Matt Lucas wouldn't make 'Little Britain' again because it would "upset people".

Matt Lucas

Matt Lucas

The 43-year-old comedian no longer wants to joke about transvestites or portray black characters because "society has moved on a lot" and he has changed his own opinions, but insists he and the show's co-creator David Walliams were merely trying to "show off" when they made the programme.

He said: "If I could go back and do 'Little Britain' again, I wouldn't make those jokes about transvestites.

"I wouldn't play black characters. Basically, I wouldn't make that show now. It would upset people.

"We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I'd do now.

"Society has moved on a lot since then, and my own views have evolved. There was no bad intent there - the only thing you could accuse us of was greed. We just wanted to show off about what a diverse bunch of people we could play."

Matt and David also created 'Rock Profile', a comedy show which featured Jamie Theakston interviewing the pair, who starred as famous musicians, such as Take That's Gary Barlow and Howard Donald - and the 'Doctor Who' star has since said sorry to the 'Back For Good' hitamker.

Speaking to The Big Issue, he added: "Now I think it's lazy for white people to get a laugh just by playing black characters. My aim is to entertain, I don't have any other agenda. And as I've got older, I've become more empathetic, I care more about hurting people.

"I've only met Gary Barlow a few times, but I've apologised every time."

'Little Britain' featured sketches of the likes of fictional teenage delinquent Vicky Pollard, played by Matt, and he and David also portrayed transvestites Florence and Emily Howard, whose catchphrase was: "I'm a lady!"