Little Britain began life as a BBC Radio 4 show produced by Edward Flinn, running from 2000 to 2002, before making the jump to television like other BBC comedies such as Dead Ringers and The Mighty Boosh.

The show's title was inspired both by the name 'Great Britain' and by the phrase 'Little Englander', referring to narrow-mindedness and complacent insularity; it also shares its name with a London street once described by Washington Irving as 'a stronghold of true John Bullism'.

All television episodes were filmed at Pinewood Studios, though part of the first series, including the Emily Howard and Lou and Andy sketches, was shot on location in Herne Bay, Kent.

Every episode of the first series ended with a segment depicting a failed world record attempt, while every episode of the second series instead closed with a Lou and Andy sketch.

Beyond stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the show relied on a small regular supporting cast to play numerous side characters, including Paul Putner, Steve Furst, Sally Rogers and Stirling Gallacher, alongside Anthony Head as the Prime Minister, Ruth Jones as Myfanwy and Joann Condon as Pat.

Doctor Who actor Tom Baker provided the voice-over narration throughout the series, framing each sketch as part of a mock guide to British society for non-British viewers.

Comic Relief specials for the show featured celebrity guest appearances including George Michael, Robbie Williams, Elton John, Russell Brand, Kate Moss, Jonathan Ross, Dennis Waterman, Stephen Hawking and Catherine Tate.

'I'm Gay', the song performed by Matt Lucas's character Daffyd Thomas during 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 character as Andy Pipkin and Brian Potter, re-recorded 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' with original creators The Proclaimers as a Comic Relief charity single released on 19 March 2007.

In June 2020, Little Britain was pulled from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox due to its use of blackface; it returned to BBC iPlayer in March 2022 only after Lucas and Walliams edited out scenes featuring blackface characters like Ting Tong and Desiree DeVere, along with a content warning.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas and Walliams briefly revived several characters for the telethon special The Big Night In in April 2020, filming separately from their own homes due to social distancing rules and using improvised costumes.

Little Britain: The Video Game, released in February 2007, was widely panned by critics and has been cited by some as one of the worst video games ever made.

The Russian sketch series Nasha Russia was directly inspired by Little Britain.