Book out next year

Matt Lucas is writing his memoirs.

Little Me: The A-Z of Matt Lucas is due out in autumn 2017, with the comic saying it will cover his story ‘from my youth to Shooting Stars, Little Britain, Doctor Who and beyond’.

Publishers Canongate won the right to publish the title following an auction, trade website The Bookseller reports.

Publisher Jenny Todd said: ‘Matt Lucas has an authentic and moving story to tell and is a gifted, funny, serious and truly original writer.  We are enormously proud to be working with Matt and are confident that this is going to be one of the biggest books to be published in 2017.’

Lucas grew up in a liberal Jewish household in London, and developed alopecia in childhood, losing all of his hair when he was six years old.

After studying at Bristol and the National Youth Theatre – where he met Little Britain co-star David Walliams – he started performing the character Sir Bernard Chumley on the comedy circuit.

He started working with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer began in 1992, appearing in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and then Shooting Stars, as scorekeeper George Dawes, a giant baby sat behind a drum kit.

His career further soared with Little Britain, which began as a radio show in 2000 before transferring to TV, where it attracted up to 9.5million viewers.

Work after the show ended in 2007, Lucas’s work has included the BBC One show The Matt Lucas Awards, the physical comedy series Pompidou  and playing Nardole in Doctor Who.

In his persona life, his six-year relationship with Kevin McGee ended in divorce in 2008.  McGee took his life the following year. Lucas is good friends with Bridesmaids co-star Rebel Wilson, and lived together in Hollywood for three years.

His former comedy partner Walliams has gone on to make a fortune from writing books, with sales of his children’s titles topping £11million last year.

An audiobook version of Little Me will also be released next year.

Published: 14 Oct 2016