Matt Lucas has spoken publicly about living with autism for the first time, telling BBC Radio 2 that he needs “some days to recharge”. The 52-year-old, best known for Little Britain, revealed the news during an interview with Romesh Ranganathan on the station.
First public admission on BBC Radio 2
As reported by The Mirror, Matt has never spoken about his autism publicly until now. During the interview, he told Romesh: “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.”
Romesh asked Matt: “Do you find that you need to recharge each battery, like you're kind of flitting between those two things?” To which Matt 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.”
What autism means according to the NHS
The NHS website states that being autistic can impact how you communicate with people and understand them, and how they understand you. The condition, which people are born with, can also affect how you think, learn and pay attention to things.
Although still best-known for his work with David Walliams on sketch shows such as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, Matt 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 Romesh’s son.
Writing and acting projects
Matt is also the author of two novels and is currently working on a third. “It’s for adults,” he told Romesh. “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 a long list of films, ranging from Paddington to Bridesmaids and Gladiator II.
On stage, Matt says he works hard at keeping things fresh and is always trying to discover new aspects of his character. “I’ve played Thénardier in Les Misérables, on and off, for over 16 years. But every time, I try to find something new. I’m always finding new things in it,” he added, “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…’”
Matt adds that his ability to find new ways of playing a part is down to how well the writer has done their job: “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. Then your performance can evolve as well.”
Future roles and podcast reunion
Matt admitted that there are a couple of new roles that he would love to get his teeth into. He says that perhaps “one day” when he’s 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 Romesh, “I don’t know if the Sondheim estate would permit it.”
He hasn’t entirely stopped working with his old Little Britain partner though. In 2025, Matt reunited with David Walliams to present a twice weekly podcast entitled Making a Scene, in which they interviewed showbiz pals 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, such as the use of racially stereotyped characters in Little Britain and Walliams’s notorious rudeness when he was a panellist on Britain’s Got Talent.
