David Walliams [top]

David Walliams (born David Edward Williams, August 20, 1971) is an English comedy actor, best known for his partnership with Matt Lucas in the sketch show Little Britain. He and Lucas have also appeared as grotesque caricatures of various rock musicians in the series Rock Profile, and in the spoof documentary series Sir Bernard's Stately Homes. Raised in Surrey, Walliams was educated at Bristol University, where he was in the year below Simon Pegg. Although he can act in quite a camp manner, Walliams maintains that he is straight and has been linked to a number of women in the British tabloids.

Born to Peter (a London Transport engineer) and Kathleen Williams (a lab technician), Walliams was raised in Banstead in the county of Surrey. He has an older sister, Julie, and three nephews, Ben, Joe and Freddie.

In 2007 he returned to non-comedic television, garnering excellent reviews for his portrayal of a suave and dangerous manipulator in Stephen Poliakoff's Capturing Mary as well as appearing in the film Virgin Territory.

David played the part of Frankie Howerd in the BBC Four biopic of the Up Pompeii star. BBC Four's 60-minute one-off drama, Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me, aired on Wednesday 9th April 2008 as part of a four-part season of specials telling the life stories of some of Britain's favourite comedians including Hughie Green, Tony Hancock and the actors who played Steptoe and Son, Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell.

The BBC said the drama would tell the "moving, humorous and poignant story" of Howerd's fight with his "inner demons", as seen through the eyes of his long-term partner Dennis Heymer. Walliams said: "I have been a lifelong fan of Frankie and his work. Playing Howerd is, in many ways, a dream role for me. In fact, Matt Lucas and I first bonded as struggling comedians over a shared love of Frankie Howerd impressions.''

On 7 March 2008, David Walliams along with Olympic hero James Cracknell swam the 12 mile straight of Gibraltar, from Spain to Morocco for Sport Relief. He successfully completed the swim in just over 4 and half hours. 

On 26th August 2008, David made his stage debut at the internationally renowned Gate Theatre in Dublin, opposite Michael Gambon in Harold Pinter's dark comedy No Man's Land, in front of an audience that included Pinter himself. The production transferred to London later in the year.

In 2009 Walliams began dating Dutch model Lara Stone. On 20 January 2010, it became known that they were engaged. Walliams proposed to Stone in Los Angeles, after her parents gave their blessing to the relationship. On 16 May 2010 the couple were married at central London's Claridge's hotel.

On March 1st 2010, David Walliams and team mates Jimmy Carr, Fearne Cotton, Miranda Hart, Patrick Kielty, Davina McCall and Russell Howard began a non-stop cycle relay to complete the 1,000-mile BT Sport Relief Million Pound Bike Ride to pedal the length of Britain from John O'Groats to Land's End. On the evening of March 4th 2010, David and all of his team arrived at Land's End. After 82 straight hours, the team raised over £1million.

In 2010, Walliams appeared alongside Paul Rudd and Steve Carell in the comedy Dinner for Schmucks.

Walliams has also appeared in Series 7, Episode 6 of the BBC2 and BBC America show Top Gear.

He also plays the mole-like alien, Gibbis, in the eleventh episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who entitled "The God Complex".

Early 2011 he hosted new panel show Wall of Fame on Sky 1.

On 4 February 2011, Walliams announced that he would be swimming a 140 mile length of the River Thames in aid of Sport Relief. Starting on 5 September at Lechlade-on-Thames Walliams swam the 140 mile swimmable length of the 215 mile river completing his challenge on 12 September 2011 reaching Westminster Bridge. On the first day of the swim, he experienced a symptom of hypothermia, possibly due to him not wearing a wetsuit. He later encountered severe stomach problems due to the bacteria in the Thames and suffered a torn disc. He swam up to twelve hours each day. During his swim, Walliams rescued a dog that had slipped loose from its owner and jumped in the water to join him. The Labrador dog got into difficulties on returning to the riverbank due to a hip condition and was lifted out of the water by Walliams. Animal rights group PETA declared they would award him an honour. Upon finishing his eight-day swim he found out he made over one million pounds for Sport Relief.

Walliams starred as Uncle Pumblechook in Great Expectations during Christmas 2011 and the New Year for BBC1.

On January 2nd 2012, it was officially confirmed that David Walliams had signed a two-year contract to be a judge on Britain's Got Talent, alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and fellow new judge, Alesha Dixon.

As an author

In early 2008 Walliams signed a contract with HarperCollins to publish two children's books. The debut novel, The Boy In The Dress, illustrated by Quentin Blake, was released worldwide on 1 November 2008. It explores several of the themes of Little Britain from Walliams' own life on an emotional level, such as the camp humour of cross-dressing and effeminacy. The story recounts a neglected 12-year-old boy's search for a female role model, his friendship with the popular girl in school, and the ways in which relationships develop along gender lines. The story has a strong resonance with Anne Fine's 1989 book Bill's New Frock.

In November 2009 came Mr Stink, again illustrated by Quentin Blake, about a 12-year-old girl who meets a tramp and helps look after him. She keeps him hidden from her family. The book consists of 26 illustrated chapters full of jokes. It is aimed at teenagers and children over 9. The book was awarded the Children's Award in the inaugural Peoples Book Prize in 2010.

On 28 October 2010 he published his third book Billionaire Boy, illustrated by Tony Ross. It tells the story of Joe Spud, the richest 12-year-old in the world. Joe has everything he could ever want: his own Formula One racing car, a thousand pairs of trainers, 8 billion pounds, even an orang-utan for a butler, but there is just one thing he really needs: a friend. The book included a 'billion pound note' that was used to enter a competition to win a day as a billionaire in London.

His fourth book, 'Gangsta Granny' was released in October 2011 and again illustrated by Tony Ross. It tells the story of Ben who is bored every time he is made to stay at his grandma’s house as all she wants to do is to play board games and eat cabbage soup. But Ben finds out she was once an international jewel thief and all her life, she has been plotting to steal the crown jewels, and wants Ben to help.

Matt Lucas [top]

Matt Richard Lucas, (born March 5th 1974 in London), is an English comedy actor. He is perhaps best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television sketch show Little Britain and spoof interview series Rock Profile, and for his portrayal of the scorekeeping baby, George Dawes, in the Reeves and Mortimer comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland, and the thief Thénardier in the musical Les Misérables.

He studied drama at the University of Bristol and is a former member of both the National Youth Music Theatre and the National Youth Theatre.

Lucas was born in London and raised in a Jewish background in Stanmore, Middlesex. He was educated at the prestigious Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, alongside other well known personalities, including Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G).

He began his career in comedy on the London stand-up comedy circuit at the age of eighteen as Sir Bernard Chumley, legendary actor and raconteur — a character who was to appear later in Little Britain.

Lucas' association with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer began in 1992. In 1995, Lucas appeared in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. The second series of the show featured Lucas in several sketches. He went on to star with them in Shooting Stars. He quickly rose to fame as George Dawes, the giant baby, who would deliver a string of meaningless gags (often in character) and insults before delivering the score, while sitting at and playing a drum kit. Many of these parts were introduced not in the style of a baby, but of a grown man — indeed, often, he would come on dressed as a specific adult such as Elton John. He also appeared on occasion as Marjorie Dawes, George's mother, who also appears in Little Britain. He also appeared in the Reeves & Mortimer BBC series Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), and Catterick in a variety of roles. In 1999, Lucas paired up with David Walliams, with whom he had already worked on television in both Mash and Peas and Sir Bernard's Stately Homes, to create Rock Profile, a comedy show that spoofed famous musicians and musical personalities. It is notable for being one of their first comedic collaborations, which fuelled their inspiration to then create the well-known show, Little Britain. Lucas has also written for actor Sacha Baron Cohen.

His music video appearances include; the Damien Hirst-directed video for Blur's "Country House" (as a psychoanalyst), Jesusland by Ben Folds in 2005, I'm with Stupid by the Pet Shop Boys and Vindaloo by Fat Les, the unofficial anthem for the England national football team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Lucas ventured into the world of stage musicals in 2002, when he took one of the main roles in Boy George's musical Taboo, at The Venue, London. He played the part of infamous performance artist Leigh Bowery, which required him to wear some outrageous and spectacular outfits and make-up.

Lucas also appeared in a Big Finish audio play based on the long-running BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. The play he featured in was called The One Doctor and was a light-hearted Christmas panto-style play.

In 2005 he took his first role in a television drama, a supporting part as a Venetian Duke in the BBC historical serial Casanova, written by Russell T. Davies. Since 2006, Lucas has been the voice of the radio and television character Digit Al, devised as part of a public information campaign on digital switchover.

On 26 November 2006 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. He made a cameo appearance in Shaun of the Dead as the cousin of Shaun's friend Yvonne.

In 2007, he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Peter Kay as a charity single for Comic Relief. He performed the single as Little Britain character Andy Pipkin, along with Kay playing as Brian Potter. After being available for less than 48 hours on iTunes alone, the track entered the UK Top 40 at number 3. On 25 March, it went to number one, where it stayed for three weeks, selling over 400,000 copies.

He also starred as the irrepressible Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, a 2006 television adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame novel.

He has made appearances in Kath & Kim and Neighbours (the latter alongside David Walliams as Little Britain stalwarts Lou and Andy), as well as a cameo role, playing 'Chris' or 'Jammy' at the wedding fayre, in the BBC Three sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

Lucas has co written (with Walliams) and performed in a new series of Little Britain USA for HBO.

Lucas was the first celebrity to make an appearance in 2008's Big Brother Celebrity Hijack on E4, working alongside Big Brother in a series containing housemates aged 18–21 with various talents.

On 9 April 2009, the series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, featuring Matt Lucas as a regular performer, premièred on Comedy Central, the first major comedy series Lucas has done since Little Britain.

In 2010, Lucas played Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, alongside Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.

On 3rd October 2010, Matt played Thénardier in the 25th Anniversary Concerts of Les Misérables, at the O2 Arena in London. A year later, from 23rd June to 10th September 2011, he reprised the role at The Queen's Theatre, in the West End. He has since collaborated with Alfie Boe, who played Jean Valjean, to record a duet of "The Impossible Dream" on Boe's debut album.

On Christmas day 2010 the BBC began showing Matt Lucas and David Walliams' new series, Come Fly with Me. The show followed the familiar style of Walliams and Lucas each playing multiple characters, but unlike Little Britain, it focussed entirely on the working environment of the airline industry. In an interview shown on BBC 3 on 9 February 2011, it was stated that the creators considered bringing travel agent character Carol Beer from Little Britain to the new series, but decided against it, as they didn't want viewers to see the new show as merely a Little Britain spinoff. Instead, all new characters were introduced. Lucas' characters included Precious, Taaj, Tommy, Mickey, Fearghal, Simon and Peter, amongst others.

In 2011, Lucas lent his voice to the CGI film Gnomeo and Juliet, as well as playing a small role as the roommate of Kristen Wiig in the wildly successful American comedy Bridesmaids.

Rock Profile [top]

Rock Profile is a British television comedy show written by and starring comedy partnership Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Rock Profile first appeared on the channel UK Play in 1999, before moving to BBC Two in 2000. The show comprises a series of spoof interviews, involving Jamie Theakston questioning Lucas and Walliams, who play famous musicians. The interviews are often bizarre and involve broad, unflattering caricatures or just downright fictional characteristics. They are often interspersed with videos by the featured artist, including humorous captions and congratulations from other impersonated celebrities.

The first series was broadcast in 1999, comprising 13 episodes, on digital channel UK Play. The series was then picked up by BBC Two, with a second series of 13 episodes following in 2000. Series one was later shown on BBC Two. In Christmas 2000, a special 45-minute episode of the series was broadcast, entitled Rock the Blind. The episode followed Gary Barlow (Lucas) and Ronan Keating (Walliams) as they recorded a charity single. Ted Robbins appeared as Pete Waterman, and Sara Cox as herself. Following the episode, the series saw a break of two years.

In 2002, several sketches were comprised for the 2002 re-launch of Top of the Pops, entitled The All-New Top of the Pops. All of the sketches were filmed backstage, featuring characters which had appeared in the previous two series. Fans of the series were happy to see its brief return, however, people who were unaware of the show at the time did not understand the segments. Complaints were also sparked regarding the sketch featuring Lucas as Elton John, who was being interviewed about his appearance on TOTP, in which he performed The Lion King's main theme, "Circle of Life". A member of the audience also verbally heckled Lucas during the sketch, which resulted in the feature being cut from all future repeat screenings of the episode.

In 2009, a third series was recorded by Walliams and Lucas. The series was subsequently made available on the internet for free viewing. The third series replaced host Jamie Theakston with new host Dermot O'Leary. The first episode aired virally on May 11, 2009, and featured a mock interview with Jordan and Peter Andre.

A DVD release of Rock Profile appeared in 2005, featuring both series, Rock the Blind, the TOTP sketches, as well as a never-before seen commercial and sketches composed for The Ralf Little Show.

Little Britain: The Facts [top]