Phoebe Waller-Bridge has revealed which line the BBC forced her and the show’s producers to cut from the second season of Fleabag.

The sitcom, which Waller-Bridge created and stars in as the titular character, has finally returned for a second season to follow up on the acclaim which greeted the arrival of the first season back in 2016.

The first episode of season two is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer (and will air on BBC One tonight at 10:35pm), and Waller-Bridge has been speaking about the production process – revealing that one line in particular from the original script was cut after the BBC expressed concern.


The offending line in question was delivered by Andrew Scott, who plays a priest who Fleabag has an inappropriate crush on.

“Originally, the priest said he didn’t want to talk about his brother because his brother’s a cunt,” Waller-Bridge said (via Digital Spy). “And the BBC were like, ‘You can’t say cunt’ – all they said was they need an alternative.”

Waller-Bridge revealed that they later replaced the word ‘cunt’ with ‘paedophile’. “I was like, ‘You want an alternative? OK! I appreciate the irony here!'” Waller-Bridge added about the change.

Last month, it was announced that the producers of Fleabag are adapting Matt Haig’s Reasons To Stay Alive book for television.