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Matt Lucas has spoken publicly for the first time about a diagnosis he has previously kept to himself.
The comedian and actor, 52, shared the news during a conversation with Romesh Ranganathan on BBC Radio 2 as the pair discussed balancing busy periods of work with time alone.
Lucas explained that he enjoys being around people but also values having periods of solitude, particularly while working a demanding theatre schedule.
‘I’ve never, ever spoken about this publicly, but I’m autistic,’ he revealed.
‘So I enjoy periods of being very sociable, like you are in the theatre, and then I also enjoy those periods of solitude where I can just write on my own.’
Ranganathan then asked whether Lucas felt he needed time to ‘recharge’ between the two.
‘Yeah, and so on my days off, you know you do theatre six days a week, apart from resting and resting my voice and all of that, I like not to see people and give them a break from me,’ Lucas replied.
‘But just to have that recharge time is quite important to me.’
Autism is a lifelong developmental condition which can affect how people communicate and interact with others, as well as how they experience the world around them.
It is a spectrum, meaning autistic people can have very different characteristics and support needs.
Lucas made the revelation as he prepares to return to the West End, where he will take on the role of Fagin in Oliver! for six weeks from September 22.
Signs of autism in adults
If you are an autistic adult, signs may be similar to the signs of autism in children.
You may have learned to adapt so that signs of autism are not always noticeable.
This is called masking and can make everyday activities and social interactions feel exhausting and stressful.
You may:
- find it hard to talk to other people
- spend more time alone than with other people
- find it hard to understand people’s facial expressions, gestures or tone of voice
- take things literally and find it hard to understand phrases such as “it’s a piece of cake” (meaning “it’s easy”)
- have fixed ways of doing things
- get distressed when there are changes to your routine
- do repetitive movements (stimming), such as rocking, flapping your hands or flicking your fingers
- be very focussed on specialist interests
- be very sensitive, or not sensitive at all, to light, sounds, smells, tastes or textures (sensory differences)
If you’re autistic you may also have:
- problems with staying in school, college or keeping a job
- difficulty making friends and having romantic relationships
- problems with your mental health
- a learning disability
His upcoming theatre stint recently resulted in another change for the former Little Britain star, who surprised viewers when he appeared on The One Show sporting a beard.
Lucas explained that he had decided to see what would happen if he stopped shaving ahead of playing the criminal mastermind, having previously spoken publicly about living with alopecia.
‘I’m growing this bizarre beard,’ he joked during his appearance.
When host Clara Amfo pointed out that viewers weren’t used to seeing him with facial hair, Lucas explained: ‘Well, I’ve never ever tried. I grew a moustache for three weeks in the pandemic, but I mean, you know, I’ve talked about this before. I have alopecia.
‘I lost my hair when I was six, shortly after that photo [a picture on screen] was taken, actually.
‘So seven weeks ago, when I knew I was doing this, I went, “Right, what happens if I don’t shave?” And this is what happened.’
He then joked that he planned to continue growing it ‘down to my ankles’ to keep himself warm at football matches during winter.
Lucas has previously spoken about losing his hair as a child, which he has said happened following a traumatic car accident when he was six.
The actor will now swap the television studio for the West End when he steps into the role of Fagin, the leader of a group of young pickpockets in Lionel Bart’s musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.
His six-week run in Oliver! begins on September 22.
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