Fury as BBC puts episodes of The Thick of It starring convicted sex offender Chris Langham back on iPlayer

• Langham was jailed after being caught with 15 images and videos of child abuse
• During his trial, one juror was physically ill from graphic nature of the footage
• Decision to put show back on iPlayer comes amid BBC’s Huw Edwards scandal 

The BBC has come under fire for putting episodes of The Thick of It back on iPlayer because convicted sex offender Chris Langham stars in it.

Langham, 74, was jailed in 2007 after being caught with 15 incriminating videos on his hard drive, which contained Level Five child abuse – the most severe end of the scale. 

The decision to put the disgraced actor’s face back on screen comes at a time when the Beeb is under scrutiny over its handling of the Huw Edwards affair after the presenter was revealed as being at the centre of an alleged sex scandal by his wife.

Armando Iannucci, who wrote and created The Thick of It, excitedly posted that the show was returning to screens, tweeting: ‘Oh, by the way, every episode of The Thick Of It now back up on BBC iPlayer.’

All four seasons of the comedy which satirises British politics were re-uploaded to iPlayer on June 20, two years after being removed from the streaming service in April 2021.

The BBC has come under fire for putting episodes of The Thick of It starring convicted sex offender Chris Langham (pictured arriving to court in 2007) back on iPlayer

Langham played the role of cabinet minister Hugh Abbot (pictured) which he later won a Bafta for

Armando Iannucci, who wrote and created The Thick of It, excitedly posted that the show was returning to screens, tweeting: ‘Oh, by the way, every episode of The Thick Of It now back up on BBC iPlayer.’

The Whitehall satire, which starred Langham as cabinet minister Hugh Abbot, first aired between 2005 and 2012 on BBC Four and BBC Two.

The decision to bring The Thick of It back to iPlayer has sparked condemnation from victims groups who have questioned whether it is appropriate to promote the two series which Langham stars in.

The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) urged anyone who is ‘triggered’ by the now available episodes to call its free support line.

Another source who works with abuse victims told The Telegraph: ‘We know there’s an impact from watching certain things that can retraumatise people.’ 

Social media users also questioned the BBC’s decision, with one user tweeting: ‘With Chris Langham in it who was jailed for accessing child abuse images. I’ll give it a miss.’

Another posted: ‘Surprised that the Chris Langham episodes are included, considering that the BBC won’t show old TOTP reruns, even edited, which featured Gary Glitter.’

Langham – who won the 2006 Bafta Best Comedy Performance award for his role in the sitcom a year prior to his conviction – was released from prison after serving three months of his ten-month sentence.

His legal team successfully argued that his sentence had been ‘very tough’ and he was released from Elmley Prison in Kent early. 

After being released from jail, he said: ‘My life has been ruined but my conscience is clear.’ 

During his trial, a juror was physically ill after viewing the footage that he had downloaded. 

Langham as Hugh Abbot alongside Peter Capaldi whose character was Malcolm Tucker (right)

Some social media users were not happy with the BBC’s decision to re-run the episodes starring Langham

Langham was made to sign the sex offenders’ register and was banned from working with children for ten years.

The re-emergence of Langham on iPlayer comes despite the BBC ensuring that prolific sex offender and paedophile Jimmy Savile was removed from any repeats of Top of the Pops.

The Thick of It was lauded for its hilarious portrayal of the chaos and back-stabbing at the heart of Westminster and starred Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker.

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment. 

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