Matt Lucas Parties With His Prince Charming
When it comes to comedy, Matt Lucas has been inseparable from David Walliams ever since they launched the Little Britain phenomenon more than five years ago. Yesterday, however, the other man in his life emerged when Lucas wed his long-term partner, Kevin McGee.
For someone who made his name with outrageous costumes and burlesque parody, there was a decidedly sober air to the afternoon’s ceremony at the Home House private members’ club
But the suits and ties gave way to greater flamboyance at an evening party in Whitehall for which the theme – pantomime – was greedily seized on by the 400 guests.
Resplendent in gold pantaloons and the pink plumes of Ali Baba, Lucas was joined by some of the more pantomimable faces from the world of light entertainment at the Banqueting House, which dates back to Tudor times.
Past revellers, including Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII, might have raised an eyebrow at the sight of Lucas’s comic collaborator, David Walliams, dressed as Christopher Biggins, Courtney Love in a blood-red gown as the Queen of Hearts, or Elton John as the most extravagant of a bevy of Captain Hooks.
The comings and goings created much bemusement among the heavy Sunday evening traffic through the British establishment, as the cast of characters continued with Janet Street-Porter attempting to pass herself off as a beanstalk, Barbara Windsor as the Fairy Godmother, Will Self who looked like a cross between a dog and a bear, and Will Young as an ugly sister.
“They were so sweet,” one onlooker said of Lucas and McGee, who was dressed as Prince Charming. “They looked very much in love but also a bit like a couple of naughty schoolboys.”
For the couple’s civil partnership ceremony at Home House , Lucas, 32, was dressed in a navy blue corduroy velvet suit and rose-patterned tie while McGee, 30, a television producer, wore a dark grey suit with black piping.
The happy couple emerged shortly after 3pm and briefly posed for pictures before retreating to rejoin their friends and family. More than 100 onlookers spilled out on to the road, blocking the oncoming traffic, and four police officers were deployed to control the crowds.
They refused to answer questions about the ceremony but Lucas, beaming and radiant, did offer: “The ceremony went very well. It was lovely. We had lots of good wishes from the public, thank you very much.”
And of course, the man who brought to life the outrageously costumed (and poison-tongued) Vicky Pollard, Bubbles De Vere and Daffyd, the only gay in the village, could not remain out of fancy dress for long.
“I’m nervous but very excited at the same time. I like dressing up, I’m quite a preppy, dull dresser in my life, so it’s a chance for me to be a bit more outrageous,” he said.
Walliams, who arrived with the television personality Dale Winton, was among the 300 guests, including fellow comic Rob Brydon and screenwriter Richard Curtis, who offered some hand puppets as a wedding gift.
Neil Tennant, Vic Reeves and his wife, Nancy Sorrell, Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross, Lenny Henry, Dawn French and Louis Walsh were also in attendance.
Lucas and McGee met three years ago and got engaged in May. They share a £1.5m home in north-west London.
In an interview with Michael Parkinson, aired in the autumn, the comedian talked about his wedding plans. “We’re going to have a civil partnership, or marriage, or whatever you like to call it,” he said. “We are very much in love, but also it’s important that gay couples have the same rights as straight couples.”
Official figures show that 15,672 gay and lesbian couples registered civil partnerships in only nine months under laws introduced last year. Equality groups hailed the total as a vindication of years of campaigning for a legal change to permit same-sex unions and boost benefit and pension rights for civil partners.
London has emerged as the capital of same-sex unions, with a quarter of the overall total for the .
Despite his newly-wed status, Lucas may not have the luxury of a long honeymoon as he and his on-screen partner, Walliams, have a busy time ahead of them. There is a live tour of the Little Britain show and the comedy duo have signed a deal with Pop Idol producer Simon Fuller to develop a version of the programme for cable network HBO.
There is the possibility of a film version in the and they are also developing a spin-off series for the BBC based around their characters Lou and Andy.