Matt Lucas has spoken publicly for the first time about being autistic, telling BBC Radio 2 that he needs periods of solitude to recharge. The 52-year-old actor and comedian, best known for Little Britain, said he has lived with the condition his entire life but had never discussed it before.
In an interview with Romesh Ranganathan, Lucas said: “I’ve never, ever spoken about this publicly, but I’m autistic, and so I enjoy periods of being very sociable, like you are in the theatre, and then I also enjoy those periods of solitude where I can just write on my own.” When asked whether he needed to recharge between social and solitary activities, he replied: "Yeah, and so on my days off, you know you do theatre six days a week, and on my day off, apart from resting and resting my voice and all of that, on my day off I like not to see people and give them a break from me, but just to have that recharge time is quite important to me."
According to the NHS, being autistic can affect how people communicate and understand others, as well as how they think, learn and pay attention. Lucas, who also appeared with David Walliams in Come Fly With Me, has starred in theatre productions including Les Misérables, Me and My Girl and, later this year, Matthew Bourne’s production of Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre.
The actor has also written two novels and is working on a third for adults, saying: “The first two had been for kids, and it’s quite a long haul. I know what I want my fourth novel to be.” Reflecting on his stage career, Lucas said he constantly seeks fresh interpretations, having played Thénardier in Les Misérables for more than 16 years. “I’m always finding new things in it,” he said. “Even 16 years on … I found things and thought, ‘Ah! Why have I never seen that before? That’s crazy. I’m going to play it like this…’”
Lucas also revealed ambitions to play Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, though he acknowledged the latter might require permission from the Sondheim estate. In 2025, he reunited with Walliams for the podcast Making a Scene, which has featured guests including Stephen Merchant, Jack Whitehall, Rob Brydon, Alan Carr and Richard E. Grant.
