June 2011 / News Archive Home

25/06/2011 - Matt's got a new Luc

Matt Lucas grins in delight after his West End debut in hit musical Les Miserables. He won a standing ovation for his portrayal of innkeeper Thernadier - a role he learned for the show's 25th gala performance at the O2 in London. Producers were so impressed by that performance they offered him the part full-time at the Queen's Theatre. For Lucas, 37, it was a teenage dream come true.
After his curtain call with co-stars Alfie Boe and Hadley Fraser, he said: "As a child, I fell in love with musicals. For my 13th birthday I was taken to see Les Mis and it's been my favourite ever since. "This is the best gift I could give my mum apart from being in Coronation Street."

20/06/2011 - David Mitchell defends Matt and David

David Mitchell has expressed his support for Matt Lucas and David Walliams after a columnist wrote a piece attacking the pair for their show Little Britain.

Barbara Ellen penned an article in The Observer headlined 'Farewell and good riddance to Little Britain', in which she described the comedy as "one of the most sneering, cold-hearted, nasty little shows ever seen on British TV".

Ellen continued: "Rewarding middle-class, educated, comedy workaholics for lampooning people without any of their advantages, struggling on the margins of society - was this where we'd come to, a boorish festival of exploitation and contempt?"

Mitchell, who pens a weekly column in the same Sunday newspaper, wrote on Twitter: "I HATE Barbara Ellen's attack on Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Spiteful and unfair about two properly funny men. "I hope that doesn't make things awkward at the Observer Christmas party. Luckily, they never f**king throw one."

19/06/2011 - David Walliams to judge The X Factor?

David Walliams would be a judge on 'The X Factor', but only if he could sit next to Simon Cowell.

Although the seat beside Simon - who left the British show to focus on launching 'X Factor' in the US - is usually reserved for a woman, the comedian would love to sit alongside the 51-year-old music mogul on the ITV1 show.

He said: "I'd take part in 'The X Factor' if I could have the seat next to Simon. That would be my condition. I'd like to be in the Cheryl Cole seat. He usually has the person he fancies sitting next to him." But I actually don't know if I could judge people's talent. I don't know if I've got enough talent myself I still think I'd find it hard to say no to people. Simon didn't ever need to be liked whereas a performer generally wants the approval of the public, especially if you're a comedian. So if you have to say no and start getting booed by audiences, it can be tricky. But I don't know, maybe one day I'll do one."

David Walliams ready to fly again

David Walliams has rubbished reports that his comedy partnership with Matt Lucas is over. The comic said the pair were currently busy with solo projects but were planning a further series of the BBC hit Come Fly With Me. And they also want to do a special in which they will feature characters from that show and Little Britain. Walliams, 39, said: "We hope there's going to be another series of Come Fly With Me. "We're doing some other things at the moment but I hope so. "We could do a show with all our characters from Rock Profile…or you could do one half Come Fly With Me and one half Little Britain or something." But he fears fans might not have nostalgia for the hit shows that made him and Lucas, 37, major stars. He said: "I think years ago things would go away so people would have nostalgia for them. "Now, you can watch anything at any moment you want. "You can buy a DVD, watch it on YouTube or whatever. So I'm not sure people are going to have nostalgia for Little Britain in a way that they might have had nostalgia for a comedy show that was on 20 years ago."

16/06/2011 - Matt Lucas and David Walliams are not going separate ways

Matt Lucas has reassured fans he is still working with David Walliams after reports the pair had gone their separate ways. They are currently working on different projects with Lucas appearing in west end musical Les Miserables and Walliams presenting a panel show, called Wall of Fame, on Sky1. But Matt Lucas told followers on his Twitter account: "Some Tweeters assuming that because we are doing our own shows at the moment, me and Dave have split up. Sorry to tell you we haven't!" The pair's spoof airport documentary Come Fly With Me debuted on the BBC at Christmas and the corporation said another series is planned.

15/06/2011 - Matt Lucas' show, 'And The Winner Is', now online

Forget the Baftas and the Oscars, Matt Lucas is the host of his very own awards show in which he and his star guests nominate incomprehensible accents, unusual talents and rubbish songs to win coveted 'Lucases'. This isn't a real awards show of course, it's a pilot we've recently filmed with Matt which we're excited to tell you has been commissioned by BBC One. Check out the video online... More info... David Walliams becomes the Prime Minister of Little Britain David Walliams becomes PM David Cameron for his new Friday night panel show Wall of Fame. David is mocked up as various personalities, including Colonel Gaddafi and Princess Eugenie, in the opening titles of the Sky1 quiz.

14/06/2011 - Panellists revealed for Walliams' new Sky1 panel show, Wall of Fame

Andrew Maxwell is to be a regular team captain on David Walliams' new Sky 1 panel show, Wall Of Fame.

The Irish comic will appear in the show every week alongside TV presenter Kate Garraway, facing a team led by Jack Dee and socialite Tamara Ecclestone. A guest will join each side every week, starting with Micky Flanagan and N-Dubz singer Tulisa this Friday.

Maxwell - already a regular on Irish show The Panel - said: 'As a news bug myself, I am really looking forward to sitting on a panel week in and week out with British comedy giants David and Jack and discussing all the week's news and gossip. It's a really exciting show and I'm delighted to be part of it.'

Dee added: 'I shall be bringing my usual blend of warmth and fun to the show and I can scotch the rumour here and now that I am David Walliams' new bitch. I think Wall of Fame will be must-see television and for once in my life for the right reasons.'

The show revolves around celebrities and pop culture, and features a wall of the 25 'most talked-about' faces of that week.

Walliams eager to start a family with wife Lara Stone

David Walliams is eager to start a family with wife Lara Stone after seeing several of his pals, including Sir Elton John, settle down with children in recent months. The Little Britain star and model Stone marked their first wedding anniversary in May (10) and the comedian is keen for them to cement their relationship with a baby. He admits meeting Sir Elton's son, Zachary, and his funnyman friend James Corden's new arrival, Max, has just added to his longing for a child.

He tells Heat magazine, "I have met Zachary and he's beautiful. I've got so many friends who've got new babies. I went to see James Corden's baby Max... and my friend (actor) Rafe Spall also has a new baby. (Actor) Rob Brydon and his wife are about to have a new one, too. Everyone's got a baby except me... "I'd very much like to have a baby... but I just hope they don't end up like me! In terms of the timing, in some ways, you think it's not the right time. But then you wonder how you know when is the right time. So it is something we're thinking about. I just don't know when."

Walliams tries his best to impersonate Middleton

His hairy arms and large hands might blow his cover but David Walliams tried his best at impersonating Pippa Middleton in his latest photo shoot. Check it out here... The Little Britain star slipped into a copy of the white silk bridesmaid dress that made the nation obsessed with Pippa's pert rear at the Royal Wedding. Despite being 6ft 3in, David wasn't letting that deter him from trying to get a taste of Pippa's popularity.

David might not have been at the Royal Wedding but he said of it: 'It did create a star, didn't it? 'Pippa Middleton. She looked great in her dress and the next day she was an international superstar. And we've never heard her say anything!' He told Heat Magazine. David watched the wedding on TV from the US and said that he cried, mainly because he kept thinking about how sad it was that Prince William's mother couldn't be there.

During his interview with Heat magazine, he also spoke about being approached to be a judge on Britain's Got Talent. He revealed: 'I think a lot of people were probably approached to see if they were interested and I did have a conversation with Simon Cowell about it, but the dates were never going to work.' The funny man added: 'I think I'd like to be a judge eventually, if I could have the seat next to Simon. 'That would be my condition. I'd like to be in the Cheryl Cole seat. He usually has the person he fancies sitting next to him. But I actually don't know if I could judge people's talent. 'I don't know if I've got enough talent myself. I think I'd find it hard to say no to people. Source.

11/06/2011 - 'Come Fly With Me' put on hold

TV bosses think David Walliams must be up for anything now his partnership with Little Britain co-star Matt Lucas is on ice. The comic is often offered roles on shows such as I’m a Celebrity but insisted he is not ready for reality TV... yet.

David, 39, said: “I get asked to go into the jungle and Strictly. Going into the jungle would be a bit humiliating but I think I am a few years away from doing that at the moment.”

He certainly does not envy the current crop of young stars on the ITV2 show The Only Way is Essex. “They are funny shows but you are sort of invited to laugh at them. And it does feel as if there is a level of cruelty and exploitation about them. They take someone’s life and get you to laugh at them for being too drunk or stupid. I just feel there is a sense of cruelty about them and I feel uncomfortable. Having said that I do still watch them. But if you have seen one episode you have seen it all. The Only Way is Essex is odd as there is a blur between real life and fiction and it’s uncomfortable.”

When asked about his prospects as a reality star he replied: “Would I go on one? Yeah, when my career is *****d.”

David, who was speaking to students at Oxford University last week, admitted his and Matt’s controversial spoof ­documentary Come Fly With Me had been put on hold, even though BBC1 wanted a second series.

He confessed their jokes sometimes went “too far” and at other times they were not even that funny.

David said: “Little Britain was very funny. Come Fly With Me was not so ­funny. And the second series is on hold at the moment.

“It is weird when we get slammed for controversy for our shows. We are only trying to make people laugh.”

Recalling Little Britain, he said: “I think as we went along it became more grotesque.

“I think possibly we did too many things about projectile vomiting and an old lady character who was incontinent. We had complaints from the Incontinent Society. Looking back I think I’d rather it had not overshadowed the show.

03/06/2011 - Penguin signs up Walliams memoir

Penguin has signed one of its big non-fiction titles for Christmas 2012, winning a hotly contested auction for a memoir by "Little Britain" star David Walliams.

Katy Follain, Michael Joseph non-fiction publisher, and Louise Moore, managing director of Michael Joseph, beat around six publishers to win world rights to the as-yet-untitled autobiography.

The publisher is believed to have paid £1.1m for the rights. Follain declined to comment on the figure, but said a "healthy advance" was paid.

The deal was signed through Paul Stevens at Independent Talent. Michael Joseph is planning to publish the memoir in September 2012. Walliams said: "The book will be an honest, intimate and most of all funny telling of my life story. I can't wait to get started."

Walliams is best known for his work with collaborator Matt Lucas in the shows "Little Britain" and "Come Fly with Me". He first appeared with Lucas on comedy duo Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's show "Bang Bang It's Reeves and Mortimer" in the late 1990s. Their first show as a double act, "Rock Profiles", was broadcast on the digital channel UK Play in 1999.

Walliams is already a published author with HarperCollins, releasing three children's books to date. Mr Stink, illustrated by Quentin Blake, won Walliams the Children's Award in the inaugural People's Book Prize in 2010.

Follain said: "David Walliams is a fascinating individual. It will be very interesting to go on this journey with him into his past and open up the real David Walliams, the one behind the make-up, the wigs, the prosthetics and the catchphrases.

"Crucially, he's a wonderful writer and has a sublime command of the English language. His memoir promises to be one of those evocative and delightful reads of real depth and wisdom."

David Walliams talks 'Mr Stink'

As a 'scratch and sniff' adaptation of his second children's book arrives in Cambridge, the comedy favourite tells Jennifer Shelton how its stinky lead character was inspired by one of Britain's most respected thespians.

A smelly, kindly, mysterious tramp is one of the latest creations to spring forth from David Walliams' fertile imagination. But, unlike Little Britain's Lou and Andy, Vicky Pollard and rubbish transvestite Emily Howard, Mr Stink started life on the page as the title character of Walliams' second book for children, published in 2009.

Now, Mr Stink is coming to life on stage in what will be the world's first 'scratch and sniff' production (yep, you heard right!), showing at the Cambridge Arts Theatre next week.

"It has come off the page wonderfully and the actors have captured the characters brilliantly. I'm really excited to see it on the first night," Walliams enthuses. Full story...