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Matt Lucas denies rumours new show with David Walliams is a Little Britain reboot

The duo are confirmed to be writing together again after their success with Little Britain and Come Fly With Me

David Walliams and Matt Lucas achieved success as a double act with noughties sketch show Little Britain. (BBC)
David Walliams and Matt Lucas achieved success as a double act with noughties sketch show Little Britain. (BBC)

Matt Lucas has poured cold water on speculation that the new show he is writing with long-time collaborator David Walliams could be a return to Little Britain.

Lucas appeared on Friday's episode of The One Show to promote the new series of Fantasy Football League and revealed that the Little Britain rumours are "not true".

Read more: Matt Lucas lost weight because he feared dying young

"Me and David Walliams are working together on a new thing, but it’s not Little Britain," he told hosts Alex Jones and Ronan Keating.

He added: "It's a brand new thing. If anything it’s more of a spiritual successor to Come Fly With Me. It's going to be all new characters.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams are officially writing together again. (Getty)
Matt Lucas and David Walliams are officially writing together again. (Getty)

"But we have literally just begun the process, we are still brainstorming. We know what the concept is but we are now creating the characters."

Lucas and Walliams have not worked on a show together since Come Fly With Me came to an end in 2011, though they joined forces to revive Little Britain for a one-off skit during lockdown.

Read more: David Walliams jealous of Matt Lucas over Bake Off gig

They also played several famous characters from the music world in a revamp of their show Rock Profile, which aired as part of Comic Relief last year.

Both stars have recently left high-profile jobs, with Lucas stepping down from The Great British Bake Off while Walliams left Britain's Got Talent after a controversial recording emerged in which he made disparaging comments about contestants.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams performed together for a Radio 4 show about Brexit in 2019. (Getty)
Matt Lucas and David Walliams performed together for a Radio 4 show about Brexit in 2019. (Getty)

Little Britain aired on the BBC between 2003 and 2007 and featured the two stars as a variety of different characters, purporting to show the population of the UK in all of its comedic glory.

It was hugely successful when it aired, but has since been heavily criticised for its controversial humour and the use of blackface by both Walliams and Lucas.

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The programme was removed from various streaming services in 2020 in the wake of increased scrutiny over blackface comedy, but it returned in 2022 after edits were made to remove some offensive scenes.

Lucas has said on numerous occasions that he wouldn't make the show now and sees it as emblematic of a "cruel" brand of humour that is now less popular on TV.

Watch: Bruno Tonioli replaces David Walliams on Britain's Got Talent