Matt Lucas signs children’s book deal as he follows in the footsteps of his Little Britain co-star David Walliams

Matt Lucas has signed a children’s book deal as he prepares to follow in the footsteps of his comedy partner David Walliams.

The Come Fly With Me star, 49, from London, has signed a two-novel deal, starting with ‘The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas’, which is due out on 12 October this year.

The book follows a little boy called Leo, as he attempts to make this Christmas absolutely perfect because it’s the first one without his Mum.

The synopsis reads: “When things go wrong, Leo wishes Christmas would just GO AWAY, but when his wish comes true, and he wakes up on Boxing Day having missed the big day, he sets out on a mission to bring Christmas back.”

The former Great British Bake Off host has written and recorded 20 songs to go along with the book.

The lyrics of each of the songs will be available at the back of the book, along with a QR code for readers to access a website where they can hear the songs.

‘The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas’ has been described as “Home Alone meets Dickens’ A Christmas Carol” and is published by Farshore (Harper Collins).

It also features a front cover review quote from comedy pal David, who praises it as being “nearly as good as one of my books.”

According to The Mirror, Matt is set to go head-to-head with his Little Britain co-star, who has netted around £100 million since publishing his first children’s book, The Boy in the Dress, in 2008.

David has since written 18 children’s novels, including ‘Gansta Granny’, eight of which have been adapted into a film and seven of which have been performed as on stage musicals.

The comedian’s latest book, Robodog, will be published on 30 March this year. The World of David Walliams website describes it as an “action-packed comic caper with cats, dogs and robots and set in a world of superheroes and supervillains.”

Matt released his first children’s picture book, ‘Thank You, Baked Potato’, in 2020. The book was based on the song of the same name, which was a reworked version of his ‘Baked Potato Song’ from BBC’s Shooting Stars.

All proceeds from both the track and the book went to the Feed NHS campaign, which aimed to provide meals for NHS workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has also published a memoir, Little Me, and a joke book titled My Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Silly Book Of Jokes.