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St Edmund's College, Cambridge

St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the three Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept only students reading for postgraduate degrees or for undergraduate degrees if aged 21 years or older.

Named after St Edmund of Abingdon (1175–1240), who was the first known Oxford Master of Arts and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1234 to 1240, the college has Catholic roots. Its founders were Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, and Baron Anatole von Hügel (1854–1928), the first Catholic to take a Cambridge degree since the deposition of King James II in 1688. The Visitor is the Archbishop of Westminster (at present Cardinal Vincent Nichols).

The college is located on Mount Pleasant, northwest of the centre of Cambridge, near Lucy Cavendish College, Murray Edwards College and Fitzwilliam College. Its campus consists of a garden setting on the edge of what was Roman Cambridge, with housing for over 350 students.

Members of St Edmund's include cosmologist and Big Bang theorist Georges Lemaître, Norman St John-Stevas, Archbishop Eamon Martin, of Armagh, Bishop John Petit of Menevia, and Olympic medalists Simon Schürch (Gold), Thorsten Streppelhoff (Silver), Marc Weber (Silver), Stuart Welch (Silver) and Simon Amor (Silver). St Edmund's was the residential hall of the university's first Catholic students in 200 years – most of whom were studying for the priesthood – after the lifting of the papal prohibition on attendance at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in 1895 at the urging of a delegation to Pope Leo XIII led by Baron von Hügel.

Foundation
St Edmund's House was founded in 1896 by Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the 15th Duke of Norfolk, and Baron Anatole von Hügel as an institution providing board and lodging for Roman Catholic students at the University of Cambridge.

After Catholic Emancipation, in particular after the Universities Tests Act 1871, students who were Roman Catholics were admitted as members of Oxford and Cambridge universities. However, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith decreed that it would be next to impossible for the ancient English universities to be frequented without mortal sin, stressing the dangers of an increasing atmosphere of liberalism and scepticism. This decision was met with public outcry from the wealthy laity, who wished for their sons to attend Oxbridge colleges. After a petition led by Anatole von Hügel, this ban was lifted in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII with the condition that a chaplain be appointed, a library with Catholic books be founded, and public lectures on philosophy, history and religion be established. As a result, the Universities Catholic Education Board (later Oxford and Cambridge Catholic Education Board) was founded and Edmund Nolan was appointed Chaplain. The Duke of Norfolk purchased property in Cambridge and the Cambridge University Catholic Chaplaincy was established at St Edmund's House in November 1886.

In its early days the college functioned predominantly as a lodging house, or hall of residence, for students who were matriculated at other colleges. Most of the students, at that time, were ordained Catholic priests who were reading various subjects offered by the University. The college was established in the buildings of Ayerst Hostel, which had been set up for non-collegiate students by the Anglican priest William Ayerst in 1884. In 1896 Ayerst Hostel closed due to lack of funds, and the property was transferred to the Catholic Church. The founding master of St Edmund's House was Edmund Nolan, then vice-rector of St Edmund's College, Ware.

Collegiate Status
Attempts to have St Edmund's House become a constituent college of the University of Cambridge were undertaken at various junctures, but were met in pre-ecumenical days by continuing opposition from the predominantly Protestant membership of the University’s governing Regent House. Among motives cited were that the college was not self-governing and its assets were held in trust by an external body, namely, the Catholic Church.

The chapel was consecrated in 1916 by Cardinal Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster. A new dining hall was constructed in 1939 and the membership of the college increased steadily as it became a recognised House of Residence of the university, without college status.

In response to growing postgraduate student numbers in the early 1960s, the Regent House of the University established several Colleges primarily for postgraduate students, and St Edmund's House became one of the graduate Colleges in the University (the others being Wolfson College, Hughes Hall, Clare Hall and Darwin College). This spurred further progress regarding St Edmund's status within the University, and in 1965, the College was permitted to matriculate its own students and new fellows were elected. In 1975 St Edmund's acquired the status of an "Approved Foundation", and after the transfer of the College assets from the Catholic Church to the autonomous governing body comprising the Masters and Fellows of the College in 1986, the College changed its name from "St Edmund's House" to "St Edmund's College". It received university approval for full collegiate status in 1996, and this was confirmed by the grant of its royal charter in 1998. The college now accepts students of all faiths and none.

Norfolk Building
The Norfolk Building is the oldest building on site, dating back to 1896 as the former Ayerst Hostel; it provided accommodation for Edmund Nolan, the first Master of St Edmund's, along with the first four students of the college. Known for its clean Gothic revival style, the building underwent a three-phase extension scheme designed by Roderick Gradidge in 1989, and now houses 21st-century amenities including the Combination Room, Dining Hall, Kitchens and a Porter's office.

Chapel
The chapel is a Grade II listed building designed by the architect Benedict Williamson CSSP and was consecrated by Cardinal Francis Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster in 1916. Notable for its simplicity and Gothic Revival architecture, the chapel is a Catholic foundation, although it is open to members of other Christian denominations. In 2003, a stained-glass window depicting the ministry of Saint Boniface of Crediton (c. 675 - 754 AD), the apostle to Germany, was donated by Stephen Frowen and blessed by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster.

A bronze sculpture of the college patron, St Edmund of Abingdon, is located at the front of the chapel, his left hand holding a Bible. The statue is the work of Rodney Munday, an alumnus of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and was commissioned by the College in 2007. The Chapel Schola and Choir perform in concerts in collaboration with St Edmund Hall, Oxford and St Edmund's College, Ware in commemoration of their Patron Saint.

Expansion
St Edmund's continues to expand and develop ints buildings. In 2000, a new residential building housing 50 students was opened, named after Richard Laws, one of the former Masters. In 2006, two new residential buildings, including rooms for 70 students as well as apartments for couples, were opened; these were named after the former Master of the College, Sir Brian Heap, and the former Vice-Master, Geoffrey Cook.

In 2016, major plans were announced for the development of two new courts and several buildings. While contemporary, the buildings' external features and material will be in the traditional architectural vernacular that is found elsewhere in the College. Brick buildings will form the perimeter of the two new courts and a new multi-million pound student centre will frame the west side of the College. The expansion plans received planning consent from Cambridge City Council in June 2017.

Okinaga Tower
Created in 1993 by the bequest of the Teikyo Foundation, the Okinaga Tower is the college's tallest structure. Designed by architect Roderick Gradidge in 1989 it houses the Master's Lodge, as well as a suite with views of the city and was opened by Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons.

Courts and other buildings
Old Court, built in the early 2000s, is located to the west of the Norfolk Building, and surrounded by New Edwardian buildings: Brian Heap Building, Richard Laws Building, Geoffrey Cook Building and the Library Building. It was constructed to accommodate growing student numbers at this time, and most of its constituent buildings are student dormitories.

New Court, constructed in 2019, consists of student accommodation, Mount Pleasant Halls, occupying the site of a substantial office block formerly on the site and giving St Edmund College a frontage to the main thoroughfare of Huntington Road.

The College Sporting Grounds is located west of the Richard Laws Building, and offers a full-sized soccer pitch for college sports and other outdoor activities. The College Orchard is south of the Sporting Grounds, and consists of expansive lawns with 5 apple trees, outdoor seating, and a barbecue pit for students.

White Cottage is a modest 18th-century brick farmhouse which pre-dates the college buildings on the site and is painted white, situated adjacent to Mount Pleasant Halls against which it appears an incongruous survival. White Cottage was the first home of the Von Hugel Institute, a Catholic Institute for Critical Enquiry working in the fields of Christianity and society. The Institute was founded in 1987 to preserve the Roman Catholic legacy of the College when control of the College itself was ceded to its autonomous Governing Body in 1985 in order to achieve university collegiate status.

Bene't House is a detached Edwardian house, south-east of the Norfolk Old Wing. Named after St Benedict of Nursia (c.480 - 547 AD), it has since 2018 contained the facilities and offices for the Von Hugel Institute.

Academic profile
St Edmund's is one of the most international colleges of the university, with students from over 80 countries (2018-2019 academic year). The full spectrum of academic subjects is represented in the college. The fellowship of the college (academic staff) represents many academic disciplines, spread across arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine, and veterinary medicine.

The college has one research institute attached to it: the Von Hügel Institute founded in 1987 to carry out research on Catholic Social Teaching. Describing itself as a 'Catholic Institute for Critical Enquiry' it works in the fields of Christianity and society, and seeks to preserve the Roman Catholic legacy of St Edmund's College when control of the College itself was ceded to its autonomous Governing Body in 1985 in order to achieve university collegiate status. The Von Hügel Institute is therefore a link to the Roman Catholic origins of the college.

The overall examination results of the college's comparatively few undergraduates tend to be in the middle among the Cambridge colleges, with St Edmund's ranking 21st on the Tompkins table in 2018.

Student life
The college is younger than some of the more traditional colleges of the university. Despite this St Edmund's maintains many ancient Cambridge traditions including formal hall, albeit with modifications. Fellows at most Cambridge and Oxford colleges dine at a "high table" (separately from the students); however, St Edmund's has no such division, allowing undergraduates, postgraduates and Fellows to mix over dinner and other social activities. St Edmund's students are still required to wear their academic gowns during formal halls, ceremonies, and college occasions. The St Edmund's gown is fashioned from distinctive black cloth with close detailing around the neck and sleeves. The robe may only be worn by members of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. The college has a long sporting tradition, including the St Edmund's College Boat Club, the St Edmund's College Hockey Club (SECHC) and the St Edmund's College Cricket Club (SECCC). SECHC (merged with St Catherine's College Hockey Club) won 2024 Cuppers and SECCC reached the 2023 Cuppers finals. In recent years members have competed in varsity teams representing Cambridge against Oxford University in a wide variety of sports, most notably, at The Boat Race, The Varsity Match, the University Match (hockey) and The University Match (cricket).

On 15 September 2017, a team of four rowers from the college broke the World record for the 'Longest Continual Row' in the male 20-29 small team category by over an hour. The following year, on 13 April 2018, a team of ten rowers from the college went on to set the British and World record for "One Million Meters" on the indoor rowing machine in the male 20-29 large team category.

Alumni

 * Edward Acton, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, historian and great-grandson of Lord Acton
 * Joaquín Almunia, Spanish politician and member of the European Commission responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs
 * Simon Amor, rugby union coach, member of the England Sevens team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
 * Malcolm Baker, Robert G. Kirby Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, former Olympic rower
 * Johan Bäverbrant, Swedish diplomat
 * Aidan Bellenger, historian and former Benedictine monk
 * Alexander Bird, Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge
 * William T. Cavanaugh, director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, and professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University
 * James Chau, Journalist, television presenter, and United Nations goodwill ambassador
 * Christian Cormack, rowing cox
 * Captain Sir George Sampson Elliston, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn from 1931 to 1945
 * Chito Gascon, Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Philippines
 * Alex Hughes, Archdeacon of Cambridge
 * Hilary Lofting, Australian novelist, travel writer, journalist and editor. Eldest brother of Hugh Lofting (author of The Story of Doctor Dolittle).
 * Louise Lombard, actress
 * Greg Loveridge, former cricketer who played for New Zealand in 1996
 * Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
 * Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, Guatemalan attorney and human rights activist
 * Alexander Masters, author, screenwriter, and worker with the homeless. Masters was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in Stuart: A Life Backwards.
 * Anna Mendelssohn, writer, poet, and political activist
 * Robert Noel, Officer of Arms (herald) at the College of Arms
 * Chris Oti, former rugby union player
 * Richard Phelps (rower), rower who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics
 * Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, legal scholar, former master of Emmanuel College, and Leader of the House of Commons under Margaret Thatcher was a resident at St Edmund's House for his undergraduate studies in late 1940s and early 1950s. During his time he was the president of the Union Society
 * Christopher Stearn, former first-class cricketer
 * Thorsten Streppelhoff, Olympic Silver medalist and German M8+ rower at the 1996 Atlanta and 1992 Barcelona Games
 * Tony Underwood, rugby union international
 * David Wallace, scholar of medieval literature, Judith Rodin Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania
 * Patrick Walsh, Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and from 1991 until 2008 he was the 31st bishop of Down & Connor
 * Luke Walton, American Olympic rower
 * Marc Weber, Olympic Silver medalist and German M8+ rower at the 1996 Summer Olympics
 * Stuart Welch, Olympic Silver medalist and Australian M8+ rower at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Fellows

 * Denis Alexander, Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund’s College and an Emeritus Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge
 * Allen Brent, scholar of early Christian history and literature
 * Sir Martin Evans, Laureate of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
 * Andy Harter, computer scientist
 * Sir Brian Heap, biologist who was the master of the college from 1996 until 2004. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1989 and held the post vice-president and foreign secretary from 1996 to 2001
 * Richard Edwin Hills, emeritus professor of Radio Astronomy at the University of Cambridge
 * Kevin T. Kelly, Roman Catholic priest and moral theologian
 * Edward Kessler, Founder President of The Woolf Institute and a leading thinker in interfaith relations, primarily Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations
 * Ilyas Khan, technologist and businessman
 * Nicholas Lash, Roman Catholic theologian
 * Georges Lemaître, cosmologist and Big Bang theorist, was a visiting academic at the college in 1923–24, while collaborating with Sir Arthur Eddington
 * Helen Mason, theoretical physicist
 * Josef W. Meri, American historian of Interfaith Relations in the Middle East in the College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
 * Simon Mitton, astronomer and author. Elected member of the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society.
 * Mark Ranby, former New Zealand rugby union player
 * Chris Rapley, scientist
 * Somak Raychaudhury, Indian astrophysicist
 * C. J. Ryan, priest and scholar of Italian studies
 * Brian Stanley, historian
 * Bob White, Professor of Geophysics in the Earth Sciences department at Cambridge University (since 1989) and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1994

Honorary Fellows

 * Bruce Alberts, American biochemist and the Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry and Biophysics for Science and Education at the University of California, San Francisco
 * Anne, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
 * Betty Boothroyd, Member of Parliament (MP) from 1973 to 2000, Speaker of the House of Commons
 * Alec Broers, Baron Broers, electrical engineer
 * Colin Bundy, South African historian, former principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford and former director of SOAS University of London
 * Derek Burke, academic who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia
 * Francis Campbell, former UK Ambassador to the Holy See
 * Janet Neel Cohen, Baroness Cohen of Pimlico, lawyer and crime fiction writer
 * Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, peer who holds the hereditary office of Earl Marshal
 * Alan Hopes, Roman Catholic prelate
 * Denise Lievesley, formerly Chief Executive of the Information Centre for Health and Social Care, Director of Statistics at UNESCO
 * Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland and patron of the Von Hugel Institute
 * Bridget Ogilvie, Australian and British scientist
 * Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II
 * Sir Tom Phillips, diplomat who served as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 2014 to 2018
 * Anthony Russell, Anglican bishop
 * Amartya Sen, laureate of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics
 * Peter Smith, Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark (London)
 * Crispin Tickell, diplomat, environmentalist, and academic

List of Masters of St Edmund's College
St Edmund's House St Edmund's College
 * 1897–1904: William Ormond Sutcliffe
 * 1904–1909: Edmund Nolan
 * 1909–1918: Thomas Leighton Williams
 * 1918–1921: Joseph Louis Whitfield
 * 1921–1929: John Francis McNulty
 * 1929–1934: Cuthbert Leonard Waring
 * 1934–1946: John Edward Petit
 * 1946–1964: Raymond Corboy
 * 1964–1976: Garrett Daniel Sweeney
 * 1976–1985: John Coventry
 * 1985–1996: Richard Laws
 * 1996–2004: Brian Heap
 * 2004–2014: Paul Luzio
 * 2014–2019: Matthew Bullock
 * 2019–present: Catherine Arnold

title: St Edmund's College, Cambridge


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Tinder

Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder is used to ignite kindling, which in turn is used to ignite the bulk material, to produce a fire.

Tinder can be made of any flammable substance, as long as it is finely divided and has an open structure.

Technique
Any flammable material may be used as long as it is finely divided. As the tinder gets thinner, the surface area and edges increase, making it ignite more easily.

Wood tinder can be made by carefully shaving thin slivers off a larger piece. Another method which keeps these slivers together, is to make a feather stick. The driest wood, which makes the best tinder, is that of dead branches that have not yet fallen to the ground.

If a fire is to be lit by sparks rather than matches, char cloth, punkwood, fungus or down are commonly used to catch the sparks. However, fungi should be selected with care as some release toxic fumes on combustion. Char cloth can be made by placing plant-based fabric (usually cotton) in a tin box into a campfire; like charcoal, it is the product of anhydrous pyrolysis. It is very fragile, and should usually be prepared only in small quantities.

Pitchwood is the resinous wood which decays last from dead conifers. It can be found on the ground where conifer tree trunks have fallen and decayed. The parts of the deadwood that would form the knots in lumber, i.e. the places where branches entered the trunk, are impregnated with resin which has the combustibility of wood soaked in lighter fluid. Pitchwood can also be found in the stumps left in the ground when conifers die. These stumps contain spires of resin-impregnated wood, called fatwood, which can easily be lighted using only a single match or lighter. Pitchwood that has been shaved into small splinters is easy to ignite, and it does not absorb water, so it remains easy to ignite in any weather as long as the flame is sheltered from rain and wind. In the southeastern United States, pitchwood is known as "fat lighter" or "lighter'd" (a shortening of lighter-wood).

Embers of burned paper, leaves and other sheetlike materials are easily carried off by air currents, where they can alight upon other objects and ignite them. In outdoor campfires, paper can be wadded up to reduce this hazard; wadded paper also burns more quickly.

Magnesium is sold in stores in shaved or bar form. Shavings burn white-hot, are impossible to smother with carbon dioxide or sand, and can ignite even wet kindling. Solid bars are impossible to ignite under normal conditions (and difficult even with a welding torch), and are thus very safe to carry. Magnesium powder and shavings are pyrophoric (they oxidise rapidly when exposed to the air). It is dangerous to carry pre-shaved magnesium — at best, it loses potency, at worst, it can spontaneously ignite and is then nearly unquenchable. Magnesium bars are sometimes sold with a length of ferrocerium cast into one edge.

The gathering of tinder, and perhaps more importantly, its dry storage is one of the most critical aspects of many survival situations.

Materials
Materials used as tinder around the world include:

 * Small twigs (poor tinder but commonly available)
 * Paper, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.

 * Dry pine needles, leaves or grass
 * Birch bark
 * Dead, standing (usually one season old) goldenrod
 * Cloth, lint, or frayed rope (if made from plant fibers and not treated with fire retardant)
 * Char cloth
 * Cotton balls, cotton swabs, tampons
 * seed "fluff" from plants like milkweed, dandelions, Cottonwood, etc.
 * Some types of fungus, such as chaga and amadou (or horse's hoof fungus)
 * Dry bread or knäckebröd and shoe polish
 * Punk wood (in the process of rotting) or charred wood
 * Bird down
 * abandoned bird nests
 * Fatwood, also known as rich pine or pine knot
 * Fine-grade soap-coated steel wool
 * Shaved magnesium or other alkaline earth metals
 * Specially prepared stringybark, known as morthi, used by the Kaurna people of South Australia

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Tinder


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Little Britain (TV series)

Little Britain is a British sketch comedy series that began as a radio show in 2000 and ran as a television series between 2003 and 2006. It was written and performed by David Walliams and Matt Lucas. Financed by the BBC, the radio series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, with the initial two television series premiering on BBC Three and the third and final series on BBC One.

The programme consists of sketches involving exaggerated parodies of British people from various walks of life. Each sketch was introduced by a voice-over narration (Tom Baker) suggesting that the programme was a guide – aimed at non-British people – to British society. Despite the narrator's description of "great British institutions", the comedy arises from the British audience's self-deprecating understanding of themselves or people known to them. Recurring characters included Andy Pipkin, who falsely presented himself as requiring the use of a wheelchair to gain the attention of his carer Lou Todd; Daffyd Thomas, who claims to be "the only gay in the village" despite much evidence to the contrary; and Vicky Pollard, presented as a working-class "chav" engaging in anti-social behaviour.

The programme's title was inspired by both Great Britain and the phrase Little Englander, referring to narrow-mindedness and complacent insularity. It is also the name of a London street described by Washington Irving as "a stronghold of true John Bullism". The radio show was trailed as "exploring British life in Britain as it is lived by Britons today in Britain". It spawned a live show, which toured internationally between 2005 and 2007, various specials for the Comic Relief charity marathons, and the HBO-produced Little Britain USA spin-off in 2008. Walliams and Lucas followed Little Britain with another sketch show, Come Fly with Me.

The series was popular and received high viewing figures, receiving 9.5 million viewers following its move to BBC One in 2005. Despite the series's popularity, commentators expressed concern on the impact that the show had on the large numbers of children who watched it, despite being aired after the watershed and on the heavy use of toilet humour, particularly in the second and third series. Criticism was also raised regarding the perceived derogatory manner in which Little Britain depicted racial and ethnic minority groups. In 2017, Lucas stated that he had agreed with the latter criticism. In June 2020, the show was pulled from various UK streaming services due to its use of blackface. In March 2022, the BBC made Little Britain available to view on BBC iPlayer again, with some of the more controversial characters being cut from the original release.

Radio show
Little Britain initially appeared as a radio show produced by Edward Flinn, which ran on BBC Radio 4 from 2000 until 2002.

Radio 4 began a rerun of all nine episodes in February 2004 (which were slightly edited for content to suit the 6:30 pm timeslot). Unusually, this overlapped with a rerun, beginning in mid-March, of the first five programmes on the digital radio channel BBC 7. In June–July 2004, BBC 7 broadcast the remaining four.

It was announced in October 2019 that the series would return for a one-off radio special, titled Little Brexit, on BBC Radio 4 on 31 October 2019.

Television series
Like several other BBC comedies (such as Dead Ringers and The Mighty Boosh), Little Britain made the transition from radio to television. All the episodes for the series were filmed at Pinewood Studios. Much of the TV material was adapted from the radio version but with more emphasis on recurring characters and catchphrases.

The first TV series was one of the new programmes in the launch line-up for digital channel BBC Three, the replacement for BBC Choice, which launched in February 2003. As a result of its success, the first series was repeated on the more widely available BBC Two. Although reactions were mixed, many critics were enthusiastic, and the programme was commissioned for another run. Part of the series was filmed at Herne Bay in Kent: Emily Howard the Lady, and the Lou and Andy sketches. Every episode of the series ended with a failed world record attempt.
 * Series One, 2003

The second series, featuring several new characters, began on BBC Three on 19 October 2004. Its continued popularity meant the repeats moved to BBC One, starting 3 December 2004. The episodes were edited for their BBC One run to remove any material that might have been too offensive for the more mainstream BBC One audience. Every episode of this series ended with a Lou and Andy sketch.
 * Series Two, 2004

A third series began on 17 November 2005, for the first time on BBC One rather than BBC Three, and ended six weeks later. After its transmission, it was unclear whether there would be another, as many sketches were given dramatic twists and "wrapped up" (see individual character articles for more information). Lucas and Walliams were reportedly in talks for a fourth series with the BBC. Furthermore, they admitted in an interview they preferred to "kill off" certain characters to make way for new ones. Again, Lou and Andy appeared in the last sketch at the end of each episode, bar one.
 * Series Three, 2005

In 2005, to raise money for Comic Relief, Walliams and Lucas made a special edition of the show, dubbed Little, Little Britain. The episode included a variety of sketches with celebrities, including George Michael, Robbie Williams and Sir Elton John. This was released on a limited edition DVD and was released in the United States as Little, Little Britain on the Region 1 version of the Little Britain: Series 2 DVD.
 * Little, Little Britain, 2005

In 2006, a two-part Christmas special was released, in which characters from the programme were depicted as visiting other countries.
 * Little Britain Abroad, 2006

Little Britain Live
As a success of the television series, Lucas and Walliams created a travelling stage show based on their series.

A special live version featuring appearances from celebrities such as Russell Brand and Dennis Waterman was filmed in 2006 and appeared on 2007's Comic Relief show.
 * Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live, 2007

Little Britain USA
In 2007, Lucas and Walliams announced that there would be no more of the British Little Britain, but they taped an American continuation of the programme entitled Little Britain USA, which featured both returning characters from the British series and new American characters. According to Walliams, the new show was "effectively Little Britain series four". The show debuted on HBO at 10:30 pm EST Sunday 28 September 2008, then the following week on BBC One in Britain. It also started airing on The Comedy Network in Canada in January 2010.

Little Britain Comic Relief Special, 2005
This was the first Little Britain Comic Relief special, with the usual cast and guest appearances from George Michael, Elton John, and Robbie Williams.

Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live, 2007
The Little Britain cast returned for a second Comic Relief Special, this time live and with special guests: Russell Brand, Kate Moss, Patsy Kensit, Jonathan Ross, Kate Thornton, Chris Moyles, Dennis Waterman, Peter Kay, David Baddiel, Jeremy Edwards, and Dawn French.

Little Britain Comic Relief Special, 2009
A crossover between the UK and USA versions, this featured guest appearances by Catherine Tate and Robbie Williams.

Little Britain Comic Relief Sketch, 2015
Walliams reprises the role of Lou Todd for Comic Relief. Guest stars included Stephen Hawking and Catherine Tate. However, Lucas does not feature.

Little Britain Does Sport Relief, 2016
This featured Walliams reprising the role of Emily Howard. Lucas did not feature.

Little Brexit, 2019
This one-off special was broadcast on 31 October 2019 on BBC Radio 4. The concept was created due to Brexit, the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Lucas and Walliams both returned for this episode.

The Big Night In, 2020
The concept was revived for The Big Night In, a 23 April 2020 telethon held during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a skit which had the pair revisiting several characters. Social distancing requirements meant that they appeared in separate video feeds from their own homes, and used improvised costumes.

Cast and characters
As a sketch show, Little Britain features many characters with varying degrees of costume and makeup. Matt Lucas and David Walliams play all the main characters in the show. Tom Baker narrates and Paul Putner, Steve Furst, Sally Rogers and Stirling Gallacher regularly appear as several different characters.

Other regular cast members include Anthony Head as the Prime Minister, Ruth Jones as Myfanwy, and Joann Condon as Pat.

Broadcast
A two-part Christmas special, Little Britain Abroad, was broadcast in December 2006 and January 2007, bringing the total number of episodes to 25. There was also the Little Britain Live show.

In the UK, the series was originally broadcast on BBC Three and BBC One and was aired in repeats on Dave, Gold, and Watch. In the US and Bermuda, the series airs on BBC America. BBC Canada has aired the program from 3 March 2005 to present. UKTV broadcasts the programme in Australia and New Zealand. Comedy Central India broadcast the programme for Indian audiences.

Criticism
The programme, notably the second and third series, has been criticised for its treatment of racial and ethnic minority groups and "punch-down" comedic style. Fellow comedian Victoria Wood said that while the sketches amused her, she found them to be "very misogynistic". In 2005, Fergus Sheppard wrote in The Scotsman:
 * The latest series of the hit BBC comedy Little Britain may be hauling in record viewing figures, but it has also sparked a previously unthinkable chorus of criticism, with claims that the programme had lost its way, trading early ingenuity for swelling amounts of toilet humour in the search for cheap laughs, and becoming increasingly offensive.

The Guardian columnist Owen Jones argued in his book Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class that Little Britain helped to perpetuate unkind stereotypes about working-class people, exacerbated by the fact that both Walliams and Lucas attended private schools.

The series became increasingly popular with children despite being shown after the watershed. There was also criticism from teachers that the programme led to inappropriate copycat behaviour in the playground.

Speaking in October 2017, Lucas stated that if he were to remake Little Britain he would avoid making jokes about transvestites and would not play the role of a Black character, saying, "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". He defended decisions that were taken at the time, and explained that he and Walliams deliberately sought to play a very diverse group of people. The pair went on to reproduce some of the characters – including a brief reprisal of Emily and Florence, the transvestites – on the BBC's The Big Night In during the 2020 pandemic where they acknowledged in character that they would not play the characters again.

In June 2020, Little Britain was pulled from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox, alongside Come Fly with Me, for its use of blackface. A spokesperson for the BBC said: "There's a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review." On its decision to remove the shows, BritBox added: "Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox." Speaking shortly after the removal, Lucas and Walliams apologised again, saying: "Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry."

In March 2022, Little Britain was restored to BBC iPlayer after scenes containing the use of blackface with the characters of Ting Tong and Desiree DeVere were removed and a content warning included. In a statement, the BBC said "Little Britain has been made available to fans on BBC iPlayer following edits made to the series by Matt and David that better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last 20 years since the show was first made."

Spin-offs and merchandise
"I'm Gay", the song that Matt Lucas's character Daffyd Thomas sang at the end of the Little Britain Live shows, was released as a CD single in Australia in March 2007 and reached number 66 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Matt Lucas and Peter Kay, in the guise of their characters Andy Pipkin and Brian Potter, re-recorded the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with its creators, The Proclaimers. This version was released as a charity single for Comic Relief on 19 March 2007.

Little Britain: The Video Game was released in February 2007. It featured a variety of characters in mini-games and received very negative reviews, being referred to by some as one of the worst games ever made.

The Russian series Nasha Russia is inspired by Little Britain.

In 2010, characters returned for Nationwide Building Society adverts, including Lou and Andy, Vicky Pollard and Eddie (Emily) Howard.

Little Britain Productions
Little Britain Productions is a production company set up by Lucas and Walliams to produce their future television projects, such as Come Fly with Me, Rock Profile and The One....

VHS
On 11 October 2004, Little Britain The Complete First Series was released on VHS.

title: Little Britain (TV series)