The comedian, actor, writer and television presenter, Matt Lucas, rose to fame in 1992 as the giant baby drummer, George Dawes, in the Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer show Shooting Stars. This was followed by his huge hit Little Britain which he co-wrote and played many of the most memorable characters including Vicky Pollard. More recently he has appeared on Dr Who and he replaced Sandi Toksvig as co-host on The Great British Bake Off. However, there’s lots about the star you may not know…
1. Musical Theatre
Matt Lucas is a big fan of musical theatre (according to an interview with tenor Alfie Boe, Matt has a cupboard full of mugs from different musicals). In 2010 he fulfilled a childhood dream when he played Thenardier in the 25th-anniversary staged concert of Les Miserables at the O2 Arena. He reprised the role in 2019 stepping in at the last minute when Gerard Carey lost his voice.
2. Real housemates
Fans of the film Bridesmaids will remember the role he played as Gil, Annie’s housemate, but did you know the great chemistry he has between him and his on-screen sister, played by Rebel Wilson, was real? The couple enjoyed playing housemates so much they decided to move in together and shared an apartment in West Hollywood for three years.
3. German citizen
In 2021, Matt announced that he had obtained dual nationality and was now both a UK and German citizen. His grandmother, a German Jew, fled Berlin in 1938.
4. Charity work
During the Covid pandemic Matt Lucas raised over £1m for two charities with his songs about a baked potato. His first song ‘Thank you Baked potato’ raised funds for a charity set up to offer meals for NHS workers while the follow-up hit ‘Merry Christmas Baked Potato’ raised funds for food charity FareShare.
5. Football fan
Matt Lucas supports Arsenal FC.