Matt Lucas has revealed that he quit The Great British Bake Off to make a new sketch comedy show with David Walliams.
The comedian, who’d hosted the Channel 4 show for three years, announced he was stepping down in December due to his commitments to other projects.
Speaking on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on Thursday (January 26), Lucas explained that one project will see him reunite with his former Little Britain and Come Fly With Me collaborator.
“Me and David Walliams have started writing together again,” Lucas said. “We just thought it was time, so we quit our jobs and decided to do that. I mean I still do Fantasy Football League, obviously. We just started last week.”
Teasing the new show, Lucas added: “It will be a show with us playing lots of characters. But we have to write the treatment for it and we have to go and pitch it and see if anyone wants to make it. But if someone wants to make it, we’ll be thrilled to do it.”
David Walliams and Matt Lucas in ‘Little Britain’. Credit: BBC
Little Britain came to an end in 2007 after three seasons. In 2020, the show was temporarily removed from BBC iPlayer after facing criticism for a number of its recurring characters, and particularly the use of blackface in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The show returned to the streaming service last year following a number of edits to “better reflect the cultural landscape” of today.
Walliams recently stepped down as a judge from Britain’s Got Talent after 10 years. His departure came after he apologised for making “disrespectful” comments about contestants during breaks from filming the show.
Bruno Tonioli was recently confirmed to be Walliams’ replacement on the ITV show, joining Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.
A replacement for Lucas on The Great British Bake Off is yet to be announced, although some are hoping Matt Berry will reunite with Noel Fielding.
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