Matt Lucas has revealed that he is autistic, a condition he has lived with for his entire life, during a conversation with fellow comedian Romesh Ranganathan on BBC Radio 2.
The former Little Britain and Great British Bake Off star 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.”
Recharge time is ‘quite important’
When Ranganathan asked if he needed to “recharge each battery” while flitting between the two, Lucas 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.”
Lucas is best known for his work with David Walliams on sketch shows such as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, but has also appeared in theatre productions including Les Misérables, Me and My Girl and, later this year, Matthew Bourne’s production of Oliver! at London’s Gielgud Theatre, which co-stars Ranganathan’s son.
Writing and new roles
Lucas is also the author of two novels and is currently working on a third. He told Ranganathan: “It’s for adults. The first two had been for kids, and it’s quite a long haul. I know what I want my fourth novel to be.” He has also appeared in films ranging from Paddington to Bridesmaids and Gladiator II.
On stage, Lucas says he works hard at keeping things fresh. “I’ve played Thénardier in Les Misérables, on and off, for over 16 years. But every time, I try to find something new,” he said. He added: “I’m always finding new things in it, and 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 attributes his ability to find new ways of playing a part to the quality of the writing. “If you’re in something that’s brilliant, and rich, and textured, that inspired other people in the show to keep their performances alive, and moveable, and evolving,” he said. “Then your performance can evolve as well.”
Future ambitions and Taskmaster
Lucas admitted there are a couple of new roles he would love to take on. He says that perhaps “one day” when he is older he would like to play Tevye, the main character in Fiddler on the Roof. He also has an ambition to play Mrs. Lovett, the killer’s pie-making accomplice in Sweeney Todd. “I’ve never seen it played by a man before,” he told Ranganathan. “I don’t know if the Sondheim estate would permit it.”
In 2025, Lucas reunited with Walliams to present a twice-weekly podcast titled Making a Scene, in which they interviewed showbiz friends such as Stephen Merchant, Jack Whitehall, Rob Brydon, Alan Carr and Richard E. Grant. Announcing the podcast in a video posted on social media, the pair joked about past controversies, including the use of racially stereotyped characters in Little Britain and Walliams’s rudeness as a panellist on Britain’s Got Talent.
Lucas is starring alongside Richard Ayoade, Isy Suttie, Nina Conti and Chloe Pettson on season 22 of Taskmaster, which begins on Thursday 3rd September from 9pm on Channel 4.
