Tears Of A Clown Matt's Private Battles

The bald truth about his life, love and loss

- Jane Moore

 On screen, Matt Lucas is famous for playing bolshy show-offs, such as Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard and “the only gay in the village” Dafydd Thomas. Off screen, he is anything but an exhibitionist – shunning social media and showbiz parties in favour of the company of only his trusted friends and his dogs, Milo and Hob.

So it comes as a surprise to learn the intensely private comedian has written an autobiography. He smiles at the irony of it. “I have traditionally been quite guarded, but in the book I’m fairly open,” says Matt. “I wanted to upload some stuff out of my head, to clear some space. Also, I’m 43 and thought if I wait too long, I won’t remember it.”

There’s quite a lot to upload, including his childhood as a bald Jewish boy who always knew he was gay, his father’s sudden death, and the husband he loved and lost. The result is Little Me: My Life from A-Z.

Matt lost his hair at six. One doctor attributed it to the delayed shock of a road accident two years earlier. Another said an overactive immune system had put his body “in fight mode”.

The funnyman recalls, “At the time, the big question was, ‘Will it grow back and how can we make that happen?’, but now I’m not looking for my hair to grow back because I don’t really care.”