59-465: Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment [ edit ] Little Britain (TV series) , a British radio and then television series Little Britain USA , an American spin-off "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album Second Light Little Britain: The Video Game Places [ edit ] 'Little Britain',
118-691: A rerun of all nine episodes in February 2004 (which were slightly edited for content to suit the 6:30 pm timeslot). Unusually, this overlapped with a rerun, beginning in mid-March, of the first five programmes on the digital radio channel BBC 7 . In June–July 2004, BBC 7 broadcast the remaining four. It was announced in October 2019 that the series would return for a one-off radio special, titled Little Brexit , on BBC Radio 4 on 31 October 2019. Like several other BBC comedies (such as Dead Ringers and The Mighty Boosh ), Little Britain made
177-502: A 'portly Thai bride' called Ting Tong." This was prompted after Netflix and BBC iPlayer removed the show from their catalogues. Lucas is a patron of the Karen Morris Memorial Trust, a UK charity for leukaemia patients and their families. In April 2003, he appeared on Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and won £62,500 for the charity. Lucas is gay. He first suspected his sexuality at age seven. At
236-401: A BBC Three interview aired on February 9, 2011, it was revealed that the creators had considered including Carol Beer, the travel agent character from Little Britain. However, they chose not to include her to avoid the impression that Come Fly with Me was just a spinoff. Instead, they introduced an entirely fresh cast of characters. On 28 March 2012, Lucas appeared as the "Generation X" guest on
295-641: A ceremony in Central London in December 2006, he entered into a civil partnership with Kevin McGee. In attendance were Barbara Windsor , Neil Tennant , Elton John , and Courtney Love . They separated and had their civil partnership dissolved through the High Court in 2008. Lucas was raised as Jewish but has variously described himself as an atheist and a "fairly secular Jew ". In 2022, he
354-703: A fictional series of awards based on nominations by his guests. On 3 October 2010, Lucas played Thénardier in the 25th Anniversary Concerts of Les Misérables , at the O2 Arena in London. A year later, from 23 June to 10 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. Also in 2011, Lucas lent his voice to
413-547: A giant baby (often dressed in an adult-sized romper suit ) who would deliver a string of meaningless gags and insults before delivering the teams' scores, while sitting at and playing a drum kit. He also appeared on occasion as Marjorie Dawes , George's mother, who also appears in Little Britain . He again appeared with Reeves & Mortimer in the BBC TV series Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) and Catterick , in
472-742: 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 Tom, the cousin of Shaun's friend Yvonne. In 2007, he released " I'm Gonna Be ", 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 . He also starred as Mr. Toad in The Wind in
531-665: A result of its success, the first series was repeated on the more widely available BBC Two . Although reactions were mixed, many critics were enthusiastic, and the programme was commissioned for another run. Part of the series was filmed at Herne Bay in Kent : Emily Howard the Lady, and the Lou and Andy sketches. Every episode of the series ended with a failed world record attempt. The second series, featuring several new characters, began on BBC Three on 19 October 2004. Its continued popularity meant
590-475: A role in Boy George 's musical Taboo at The Venue in London. He played the performance artist Leigh Bowery . Little Britain is Lucas' most commercially successful work. The show came about when trainee BBC radio producer Ashley Blaker , tasked with coming up with ideas for a television or radio series, bumped into Lucas in London. The two were old friends from Haberdashers' and Lucas took Blaker to
649-622: A sketch show, Little Britain features many characters with varying degrees of costume and makeup. Matt Lucas and David Walliams play all the main characters in the show. Tom Baker narrates and Paul Putner , Steve Furst , Sally Rogers and Stirling Gallacher regularly appear as several different characters. Other regular cast members include Anthony Head as the Prime Minister, Ruth Jones as Myfanwy, and Joann Condon as Pat. A two-part Christmas special, Little Britain Abroad ,
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#1732772711666708-655: A translation of the Irish toponym An Bhreatain Bheag , referring to Wales . 'Little Britain', a historic designation for Brittany 'Little Britain', Greco-Egyptian to modern term for Ireland in context of the two main British Isles (Great & Little Britain) Little Britain, London , England, a street and historically a small district Little Britain, Buckinghamshire , England, in Greater London on
767-684: A variety of roles. In 1999, Lucas paired with David Walliams , with whom he had already worked in Mash and Peas and Sir Bernard's Stately Homes , to create Rock Profile , a comedy show spoofing famous musical personalities. It is notable for being one of their first comedic collaborations. His music video appearances include the Damien Hirst -directed video for Blur 's " Country House ", "Jesusland" by Ben Folds in 2005, " I'm with Stupid " by Pet Shop Boys , and " Vindaloo " by Fat Les . Lucas ventured into stage musicals in 2002, when he took
826-458: A working-class " chav " engaging in anti-social behaviour . The programme's title was inspired by both Great Britain and the phrase Little Englander , referring to narrow-mindedness and complacent insularity. It is also the name of a London street described by Washington Irving as "a stronghold of true John Bullism ". The radio show was trailed as "exploring British life in Britain as it
885-522: Is a production company set up by Lucas and Walliams to produce their future television projects, such as Come Fly with Me , Rock Profile and The One... . On 11 October 2004, Little Britain The Complete First Series was released on VHS. Informational notes Citations Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on
944-479: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Little Britain (TV series) Little Britain is a British sketch comedy series that began as a radio show in 2000 and ran as a television series between 2003 and 2006. It was written and performed by David Walliams and Matt Lucas . Financed by the BBC , the radio series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , with
1003-581: Is lived by Britons today in Britain". It spawned a live show , which toured internationally between 2005 and 2007, various specials for the Comic Relief charity marathons, and the HBO -produced Little Britain USA spin-off in 2008. Walliams and Lucas followed Little Britain with another sketch show, Come Fly with Me . The series was popular and received high viewing figures, receiving 9.5 million viewers following its move to BBC One in 2005. Despite
1062-680: The BBC sketch comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Come Fly with Me (2010–2011). Lucas first came to prominence on the comedy panel show Shooting Stars , in which he portrayed scorekeeper George Dawes from 1995 to 2009. From 2015 to 2017, he portrayed the role of Nardole in the BBC series Doctor Who . He has also appeared in films, including Astro Boy (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Bridesmaids , Gnomeo & Juliet (both 2011), Small Apartments (2012), Paddington (2014), and Wonka (2023). Lucas presented
1121-564: The Groucho Club , where he told Blaker of his ideas for a sketch show. Little Britain was launched as a radio show on BBC Radio 4 and it later became a TV series. Among the many characters he plays in the series, which he writes and acts in along with David Walliams, are apparently "disabled" Andy Pipkin , teenage Bristol chav Vicky Pollard , homophobic homosexual Daffyd Thomas , and insensitive slimming club organiser Marjorie Dawes . In January 2005, Lucas and Walliams were named
1180-681: The University of Bristol between 1992 and 1995, although he did not complete his degree. He also spent time with the National Youth Theatre , where he met his future collaborator David Walliams . Lucas's association with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer began in 1992. He appeared in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer in 1995, and went on to star with them in Shooting Stars . He quickly rose to fame as George Dawes,
1239-547: The most powerful people in TV comedy by Radio Times . 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 . Also in 2005, he did voice work in the ITV children's program King Arthur's Disasters alongside Rik Mayall . Since 2006, Lucas has been the voice of the radio and television character Digit Al , devised as part of
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#17327727116661298-589: The Australian game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation . On 10 April 2012, Lucas's own BBC One show The Matt Lucas Awards began. It was a send-up of an awards program, with a panel of comedians giving their nominations for awards for a series of prizes concerning trivial topics. Lucas also starred in the dark comedy Small Apartments released in February 2013 alongside James Caan, Billy Crystal, Johnny Knoxville, and Juno Temple with other cameo performances by notable actors. On 21 February 2013, Lucas appeared on
1357-458: The BBC said: "There's a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review." On its decision to remove the shows, BritBox added: "Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox." Speaking shortly after the removal, Lucas and Walliams apologised again, saying: "Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry." In March 2022, Little Britain
1416-647: The BBC series Doctor Who for its tenth series , reprising the character Nardole , which he had previously played in the 2015 and 2016 Christmas specials, " The Husbands of River Song " and " The Return of Doctor Mysterio " respectively. On 16 February 2017, Lucas was awarded an Honorary Degree "Doctor of Letters" by the University of Bristol, where he had studied for two years in the 1990s but had left before completing his degree course. On 3 October 2017, Lucas released his autobiography titled Little Me , published by Canongate Books in hardback. The paperback edition
1475-819: The Bucks boundary Little Britain, Ontario , Canada Little Britain, one of the Urban neighbourhoods of Sudbury , Ontario, Canada Little Britain, Mariposa Township, Ontario , Canada Little Britain, New York , US Little Britain, Pennsylvania , US Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , US See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing Little Britain Britain (disambiguation) Little England (disambiguation) New Britain (disambiguation) Great Britain Topics referred to by
1534-451: The CGI film Gnomeo and Juliet and he played a small role as the roommate of Kristen Wiig in the comedy Bridesmaids . On Christmas Day 2010, the BBC premiered Lucas and David Walliams' latest series, Come Fly with Me . Unlike their previous work, Little Britain , this new show concentrated solely on the airline industry, with Walliams and Lucas each portraying several characters. In
1593-648: The NBC series Community as Toby, an English friend of Abed Nadir . In 2014, Lucas played Ray Thomas in The Life of Rock with Brian Pern . Lucas launched a new comedy series called Pompidou for BBC Two . The show began airing on 1 March 2015. In May 2016, Lucas reprised his role as "Tweedledee/Tweedledum" in Tim Burton's Alice Through the Looking Glass , sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Lucas joined
1652-692: The Radio 2 Breakfast Show . From 10 August to 30 November 2019, Lucas appeared in Les Misérables at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, playing the role of Monsieur Thénardier in a fully staged concert adaptation of the musical. On 20 December 2019, Lucas returned to the role at the Sondheim Theatre , after actor Gerard Carey contracted vocal damage through pneumonia and was forced to pull out. On 10 January 2020, Lucas himself
1711-548: The Region 1 version of the Little Britain: Series 2 DVD. In 2006, a two-part Christmas special was released, in which characters from the programme were depicted as visiting other countries. As a success of the television series, Lucas and Walliams created a travelling stage show based on their series. A special live version featuring appearances from celebrities such as Russell Brand and Dennis Waterman
1770-471: The UK and USA versions, this featured guest appearances by Catherine Tate and Robbie Williams . Walliams reprises the role of Lou Todd for Comic Relief. Guest stars included Stephen Hawking and Catherine Tate . However, Lucas does not feature. This featured Walliams reprising the role of Emily Howard. Lucas did not feature. This one-off special was broadcast on 31 October 2019 on BBC Radio 4 . The concept
1829-677: The Willows , a 2006 television adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame novel. He has appeared in Kath & Kim and Neighbours (the latter alongside David Walliams as Little Britain characters 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
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1888-620: The Working Class that Little Britain helped to perpetuate unkind stereotypes about working-class people, exacerbated by the fact that both Walliams and Lucas attended private schools. The series became increasingly popular with children despite being shown after the watershed . There was also criticism from teachers that the programme led to inappropriate copycat behaviour in the playground. Speaking in October 2017, Lucas stated that if he were to remake Little Britain he would avoid making jokes about transvestites and would not play
1947-540: The baking competition show The Great British Bake Off , alongside Noel Fielding from 2020 to 2023. Matthew Richard Lucas was born on 5 March 1974 in the Paddington area of west London , the son of Diana (née Williams; born 1945) and chauffeuring business owner John Stanley Lucas (1944–1996). His family is Jewish ; some of his mother's family fled Nazi Germany just before the Second World War . He
2006-401: The characters – including a brief reprisal of Emily and Florence, the transvestites – on the BBC 's The Big Night In during the 2020 pandemic where they acknowledged in character that they would not play the characters again. In June 2020, Little Britain was pulled from BBC iPlayer , Netflix and BritBox , alongside Come Fly with Me , for its use of blackface . A spokesperson for
2065-462: The comedy arises from the British audience's self-deprecating understanding of themselves or people known to them. Recurring characters included Andy Pipkin , who falsely presented himself as requiring the use of a wheelchair to gain the attention of his carer Lou Todd; Daffyd Thomas, who claims to be "the only gay in the village" despite much evidence to the contrary; and Vicky Pollard , presented as
2124-471: The end of each episode, bar one. In 2005, to raise money for Comic Relief , Walliams and Lucas made a special edition of the show, dubbed Little, Little Britain . The episode included a variety of sketches with celebrities, including George Michael , Robbie Williams and Sir Elton John . This was released on a limited edition DVD and was released in the United States as Little, Little Britain on
2183-758: The following week on BBC One in Britain. It also started airing on The Comedy Network in Canada in January 2010. This was the first Little Britain Comic Relief special, with the usual cast and guest appearances from George Michael , Elton John , and Robbie Williams . The Little Britain cast returned for a second Comic Relief Special, this time live and with special guests: Russell Brand , Kate Moss , Patsy Kensit , Jonathan Ross , Kate Thornton , Chris Moyles , Dennis Waterman , Peter Kay , David Baddiel , Jeremy Edwards , and Dawn French . A crossover between
2242-417: The hit BBC comedy Little Britain may be hauling in record viewing figures, but it has also sparked a previously unthinkable chorus of criticism, with claims that the programme had lost its way, trading early ingenuity for swelling amounts of toilet humour in the search for cheap laughs, and becoming increasingly offensive. The Guardian columnist Owen Jones argued in his book Chavs: The Demonization of
2301-447: The initial two television series premiering on BBC Three and the third and final series on BBC One . The programme consists of sketches involving exaggerated parodies of British people from various walks of life. Each sketch was introduced by a voice-over narration ( Tom Baker ) suggesting that the programme was a guide – aimed at non-British people – to British society. Despite the narrator's description of "great British institutions",
2360-436: The latter criticism. In June 2020, the show was pulled from various UK streaming services due to its use of blackface . In March 2022, the BBC made Little Britain available to view on BBC iPlayer again, with some of the more controversial characters being cut from the original release. Little Britain initially appeared as a radio show produced by Edward Flinn, which ran on BBC Radio 4 from 2000 until 2002. Radio 4 began
2419-584: The programme in Australia and New Zealand. Comedy Central India broadcast the programme for Indian audiences. The programme, notably the second and third series, has been criticised for its treatment of racial and ethnic minority groups and "punch-down" comedic style . Fellow comedian Victoria Wood said that while the sketches amused her, she found them to be "very misogynistic". In 2005, Fergus Sheppard wrote in The Scotsman : The latest series of
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2478-418: The repeats moved to BBC One , starting 3 December 2004. The episodes were edited for their BBC One run to remove any material that might have been too offensive for the more mainstream BBC One audience. Every episode of this series ended with a Lou and Andy sketch. A third series began on 17 November 2005, for the first time on BBC One rather than BBC Three, and ended six weeks later. After its transmission, it
2537-416: The role of a black character, saying, "Basically, I wouldn't make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I'd do now... Society has moved on a lot since then and my own views have evolved". He defended decisions that were taken at the time, and explained that he and Walliams deliberately sought to play a very diverse group of people. The pair went on to reproduce some of
2596-509: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Little Britain . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_Britain&oldid=1247014816 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Irish-language text Short description
2655-446: The series's popularity, commentators expressed concern on the impact that the show had on the large numbers of children who watched it, despite being aired after the watershed and on the heavy use of toilet humour , particularly in the second and third series. Criticism was also raised regarding the perceived derogatory manner in which Little Britain depicted racial and ethnic minority groups. In 2017, Lucas stated that he had agreed with
2714-637: The show was first made." "I'm Gay", the song that Matt Lucas's character Daffyd Thomas sang at the end of the Little Britain Live shows, was released as a CD single in Australia in March 2007 and reached number 66 on the ARIA Singles Chart . Matt Lucas and Peter Kay , in the guise of their characters Andy Pipkin and Brian Potter, re-recorded the song " I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) " with its creators, The Proclaimers . This version
2773-670: The track going towards the Feed NHS campaign, which aims to provide meals for NHS workers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK . The song reached No. 34 in the charts. Lucas also wrote a children's picture book based on "Thank You, Baked Potato", published by Egmont and all proceeds again go to Feed NHS. In 2020, Lucas, along with his Little Britain co-star David Walliams, apologised for their portrayal of characters using racial caricatures , "including an obese Caribbean woman called Desiree DeVere, portrayed in blackface , and
2832-406: The transition from radio to television. All the episodes for the series were filmed at Pinewood Studios . Much of the TV material was adapted from the radio version but with more emphasis on recurring characters and catchphrases. The first TV series was one of the new programmes in the launch line-up for digital channel BBC Three , the replacement for BBC Choice, which launched in February 2003. As
2891-543: Was broadcast in December 2006 and January 2007, bringing the total number of episodes to 25. There was also the Little Britain Live show. In the UK, the series was originally broadcast on BBC Three and BBC One and was aired in repeats on Dave , Gold , and Watch . In the US and Bermuda, the series airs on BBC America . BBC Canada has aired the program from 3 March 2005 to present. UKTV broadcasts
2950-477: Was created due to Brexit , the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Lucas and Walliams both returned for this episode. The concept was revived for The Big Night In , a 23 April 2020 telethon held during the COVID-19 pandemic , in a skit which had the pair revisiting several characters. Social distancing requirements meant that they appeared in separate video feeds from their own homes, and used improvised costumes. As
3009-576: Was filmed in 2006 and appeared on 2007's Comic Relief show. In 2007, Lucas and Walliams announced that there would be no more of the British Little Britain , but they taped an American continuation of the programme entitled Little Britain USA , which featured both returning characters from the British series and new American characters. According to Walliams, the new show was "effectively Little Britain series four". The show debuted on HBO at 10:30 pm EST Sunday 28 September 2008, then
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#17327727116663068-491: Was forced to withdraw from the show following a back injury. In March 2020, he became the new co-host of the Channel 4 and Love Productions television show The Great British Bake Off , taking over from Sandi Toksvig . He departed from the programme in December 2022. On 3 April 2020, Lucas released a reworked version of his "Baked Potato Song" from Shooting Stars titled "Thank You Baked Potato", with all proceeds from
3127-459: Was raised in a Reform Jewish household although his parents came from Orthodox Jewish families. He has had alopecia since childhood, having lost all his hair after being struck by a car at the age of 6. When Lucas was 22, his father died of a heart attack. Lucas was educated at Aylward Primary School and Haberdashers' Boys' School in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire . He studied drama at
3186-596: Was released as a charity single for Comic Relief on 19 March 2007. Little Britain: The Video Game was released in February 2007. It featured a variety of characters in mini-games and received very negative reviews, being referred to by some as one of the worst games ever made . The Russian series Nasha Russia is inspired by Little Britain . In 2010, characters returned for Nationwide Building Society adverts, including Lou and Andy , Vicky Pollard and Eddie (Emily) Howard . Little Britain Productions
3245-428: Was released on 7 June 2018. From 2 July to 25 August 2018, Lucas played Bill Snibson in a revival of Me and My Girl at Chichester Festival Theatre . In 2019, Lucas was the bank holiday cover host for the Radio 2 Breakfast Show. He will also cover Paul O'Grady 's Sunday 5–7pm show during the summer; Fearne Cotton will be the main holiday cover host. In 2021, Lucas continues to sit in for Zoe Ball and host
3304-402: Was restored to BBC iPlayer after scenes containing the use of blackface with the characters of Ting Tong and Desiree DeVere were removed and a content warning included. In a statement, the BBC said "Little Britain has been made available to fans on BBC iPlayer following edits made to the series by Matt and David that better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last 20 years since
3363-644: Was the first celebrity to appear in 2008's Big Brother Celebrity Hijack on E4 . On 9 April 2009, the series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire , featuring Lucas as a regular performer, premièred on Comedy Central , the first major comedy series which Lucas had worked on since Little Britain . In 2010, Lucas played Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton 's Alice in Wonderland . Starting in February 2010, Lucas began hosting his own radio show, And The Winner Is , in which he handed out
3422-711: Was the subject of BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? and learned that many of his grandmother's cousins had been murdered in the Holocaust . His grandmother's cousin, Werner Goldschmidt, had lived with the family of diarist Anne Frank in Amsterdam in 1942. In 2021, 83 years after his grandmother left Berlin, Lucas obtained German citizenship . Lucas is an avid supporter of Arsenal Football Club . From 2012 to 2015, Lucas lived with his Bridesmaids co-star Rebel Wilson in West Hollywood . Lucas also has
3481-408: Was unclear whether there would be another, as many sketches were given dramatic twists and "wrapped up" (see individual character articles for more information). Lucas and Walliams were reportedly in talks for a fourth series with the BBC. Furthermore, they admitted in an interview they preferred to "kill off" certain characters to make way for new ones. Again, Lou and Andy appeared in the last sketch at
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