Why did Matt Lucas and David Walliams fall out? Inside their relationship highs and lows

Résumé détaillé

Inside David Walliams and Matt Lucas’s relationship history as Walliams faces sexual misconduct claims

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Matt Lucas and David Walliams were once one of the UK’s best-known comedy double acts as the brains behind controversial sketch show, Little Britain.

They met in 1990 at the National Youth Theatre and bonded over being the “funny ones” in their groups, before launching Little Britain as a TV show between 2003 and 2006.

Known for its exaggerated parodies of the British public, it was popular at the time but has since been criticised for its offensive tropes and problematic depictions of racial and minority groups. The show was pulled from a slew of streaming services due to its use of blackface in 2020 - and was later added back to BBC iPlayer in 2022, with some of the controversial characters edited out.

Despite working closely for decades, Lucas and Walliams’ friendship became strained during the Little Britain Live tour in 2005 and their tour of Australia in 2007.

Earlier this week, Walliams, 55, was accused of sexual misconduct, including allegations of preying on teenage girls as young as 15. He has denied all the allegations of wrongdoing. Amid the controversy, the Standard take a look at what went wrong between him and Lucas.

The pair clashed backstage and were often at “loggerheads” over minor things, such as what kind of chocolate to request or arguments over Walliams’ facial hair, according to Lucas’ autobiography Little Me.

These disagreements occasionally escalated into screaming matches and shouting obscenities at each other, Lucas said.

After their second sketch show together, Come Fly With Me, the duo officially ended their professional partnership in 2011 and drifted apart for several years.

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