...as he talks about how his new project with David Walliams will embrace diverse talent

Matt Lucas has written a novel – with music.

The book will feature QR codes listeners can scan to listen to the accompanying soundtrack. And he plans to turn the whole idea into a musical.

News of the as-yet untitled novel – due out in October – came as the comedian talked about his planned new TV project with David Walliams, which will feature ‘diverse talent on screen and in the writers' room’.

His comments come after years of criticism of  Little Britain and Come Fly With Me for offensive stereotypes and use of blackface.

And although nothing has yet  been confirmed – let alone commissioned - Lucas said that he and Walliams will do things differently, 12 yeas after their last collaboration.

Talking to footballer Troy Deeney on his Deeney Talks podcast, the comic said he didn’t want to get drawn too deeply into the controversy over his previous work, saying: ‘Some people are very upset over what we have done. Out of respect to those people  I don't talk about it publicly because because I don't want to cause further upset.

‘But I totally accept that there are different opinions, and I respect everyone's opinion….  it's not about talking. For me, it's about listening.

‘I see things differently now to how we did and, things have changed. And I respect that.’

He said he was meeting up with Walliams the day after the podcast recorded to work on the new project, and added: ‘The show that me and David are going to try and develop will be will be different [from Little Britain] in many ways.

‘It'll be similar in some ways but at the very creation of the show, we are talking about how we can have diverse talent on screen and in the writers’ room and conceive it as something that isn't just about me and David playing absolutely everyone.  That will be built into the show from beginning, which is something we should have done but didn't do back then.

‘I'm not going to sit here and say we should be making shows now the way we made them then. Of course, I don't think we should. Things are different. And that's really important. I can't sit here and say, "you know, it's really important that LGBT people have a voice. It's really important that Jewish people have a voice" but not think it's important that other people have a voice.

‘We're going to open this process up and involve some other people in a way that we haven't done before. Maybe have a possibly have a writers’ room like they do in America. Yeah.

‘I think that'd be really good, because I think it'll get other other voices in there, and they'll come up with stuff that we couldn't have come up with.

‘But I think probably the first episode of the show - and we haven't sold the show yet. We haven't pitched it. So it might be that nobody wants to make it. But if it does get made, I think we will write the first episode, just the two of us like old times.

‘And then after that, we'll try and involve people in a way that we didn't necessarily in our previous shows.

‘We've already decided what the show is. We've already worked out what that what the concept of the show is.’

Lucas spoke of how he left the Great British Bake Off to concentrate on projects that most interest him, including Sky’s Fantasy Football League – which he co-hosts with Elis James – and his new book.

He said: ‘I've written a short novel, which I'm turning into a musical. That is the thing that gives me so much joy, and I now have time to do that.

‘When the book comes out in October, we're going to have it so that as you read the book, there are QR codes throughout. When you click you can hear the song that I've written. So there's going to be I don't know, 15, 20 songs in there, something like that. I'm basically going to record a double album.

‘So not doing the Bake Off means I have time to do some writing with David, it means I have some time to record my music, as well as Fantasy Football League.’

However he said that he no longer feel the need to create a show that’s going to be as big as Little Britain. And after downsizing to a smaller house, doesn’t need to work purely for the money.

He said: ‘I don't pressure myself that anything has to be big. I don't I don't think "oh, this has to be the most watched show on TV". I'm not interested in it.

‘That was never what we aim to do wit Little Britain anyway, but it's what happened - it became the biggest show. But because I've had that itch scratched. I just don’t  have it any more. In a nice way, I don’t care how many people watch, as long as I can keep doing it if I like doing it.’

• Listen to the full interview here.

Published: 23 Feb 2023