David Walliams – born Williams but forced to change his name for Equity resons – was raised in Banstead in Surrey, educated at Reigate Grammar School, then joined the National Youth Theatre, where he met comedy partner Mattt Lucas, and both went on to study drama at the University of Bristol.

His first TV appearance was in a Sky One show Games World and he also played Jake Plaskow in the BBC drama series Attachments.

But he is almost exclusively known for his partnership with Matt Lucas, which started on the stand-up circuit, before making it onto TV with the 1999 UK Play series Rock Profiles. They recorded their first of two series of Little Britain for Radio 4 in 2001, and it transferred onto BBC Three in 2003.

In July 2006, Walliams swam the English Channel for the Sport Relief in 10 hours and 34 minutes, one of the top 50 recorded times.

He lives in Noel Gallagher's former home, Supernova Heights, in Belsize Park, North West London.