Matt Lucas left The One Show viewers doing a double take after revealing his new beard last night (Aug 26).
The actor, 52, grew the facial hair for his role as Fagan in the West End production of Oliver.
The look follows earlier interest in Matt Lucas’s slimmed-down appearance during another visit to the programme. However, the beard gave viewers a completely different transformation to discuss.
Matt Lucas explains his ‘bizarre beard’ for Oliver role
Matt quickly explained the reason behind his unexpected facial hair.
He told hosts Clara Amfo and JB Gill: “I’m growing this bizarre beard.”
The actor said he had never attempted to grow a full beard before. He had only kept a moustache for three weeks during the pandemic.
His Oliver role then prompted a longer experiment.
He explained: “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.”
Matt also joked about growing the beard down to his ankles. He suggested it could keep him warm at football during winter.
The One Show viewers react to Matt Lucas’s new look
Social media users admitted they struggled to recognise Matt after seeing his beard.
One viewer wrote: “Didn’t recognise Matt Lucas, quite a change since I last seen him. Looking good though.”
“Matt Lucas looks like a different person. #theoneshow,” another person shared.
“They definitely said Matt Lucas was on #theoneshow tonight …. still waiting,” a third remarked.
Matt previously explained his weight loss on Gabby Logan’s podcast
Matt’s appearance had already drawn comments following his widely discussed weight loss.
The comedian previously revealed that his clothing size had fallen from as high as XXXL to medium.
Matt discussed those changes on Gabby Logan’s podcast in 2022. He said: “I was very big and I was getting bigger in the pandemic actually.”
He linked his decision to change his habits with his family’s history of early deaths.
Matt was 22 when his father died suddenly at 52. He also said his grandfather died in his mid-50s.
The comedian subsequently lost weight but said he still wanted to become fitter. He also hoped to exercise more.
Matt opens up about his alopecia experience
Matt’s beard also opened a conversation about his lifelong experience with alopecia.
He told The One Show: “I lost my hair when I was six, shortly after that photo was taken, actually.”
Matt has linked the hair loss with the delayed shock of a traumatic childhood road accident.
In a 2017 Guardian column, he wrote that the experience shaped his childhood and later career.
The actor recalled finding growing amounts of hair on his pillow. He had lost all his hair by that summer’s end.
Matt also described facing bullying because of his baldness. However, he felt his distinctive appearance later helped his acting career.
Wigs allowed him to create dramatically different characters. His new beard has now produced another striking change for the stage.
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