Matt Lucas's Biography

Matt Lucas was born on 5 March 1974. He grew up in Stanmore, Middlesex and attended Haberdashers' Aske's.

He lost his hair from alopecia when young and when Matt Lucas was a teenager, his father was sentenced to four years prison for fraud.

Matt Lucas first met his long-time collaborator David Walliams at the National Youth Theatre, and they caught up with each other again at Bristol University. Together they worked up a routine around a character Sir Bernard Chumley.

Lucas played Chumley in 1994, 1995 and 1996 at the Edinburgh Festival.

His major television work includes The Smell Of Reeves and Mortimer, Bang Bang It's Reeves and Mortimer, and Randall and Hopkirk.

He also teamed up with Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves on Shooting Stars, where he played George Dawes, who, dressed as a baby, played the drums exuberantly whilst giving the scores.

Not just a performer, Matt Lucas also wrote for Da Ali G Show.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams have made a huge impact with Little Britain, which was originally a radio show. Little Britain went from Radio 4 to BBC3 to terrestrial BBC.

The comedy series has won a number of 'gongs'. As a radio show it picked up a Silver Sony Award and then as a TV series it has won various awards including Royal Television Society Awards and BAFTAs.

Melvyn Bragg, in discussing why the South Bank Show was making a programme about David Walliams and Matt Lucas, compared the Little Britain creators to the originators of The Goon Show because "they are hitting new heights of comedy".

Matt Lucas's main interests are television and Arsenal. Bob Mortimer once described him as "the angriest man I have ever met".

In December 2006 Matt Lucas and TV producer Kevin McGee had a civil partnership ceremony.

However, in June 2008, Matt Lucas and Kevin McGee split up and issued a statement: "It is with sadness that Matt and Kevin announce that their relationship has come to an end. Their separation is amicable ..."

In October 2008 Matt Lucas and Kevin McGee officially dissolved their civil partnership.

In 2009, Matt Lucas was cast as Chancellor Dongalor in Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, a 5-part spoof of fantasy movies, that was a BBC and Comedy Central co-production.

In October 2009, Matt Lucas pulled out of acting in Prick Up Your Ears after his former husband, Kevin McGee was found dead after hanging himself.

On 11 March 2010, the BBC reported that Matt Lucas would not be appearing in the next series of Shooting Stars, as he was busy writing a new series.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams were scheduled to return to BBC1 at Christmas 2010 with a new mock documentary series Come Fly With Me.

On 14 June 2016, the BBC announced that Matt Lucas was returning to Doctor Who as Nardole from the opening episode of series 10.

In March 2020, it was announced that Matt Lucas would replace Sandi Toksvig as co-host of The Great British Bake Off.

Matt presented the show for three series before announcing in December 2022, that he was leaving Bake Off, unable to carry on because of his commitments to Fantasy Football League and elsewhere.

In 2023, he was cast in the film Wonka.