Pompidou: BBC backs Matt Lucas' 'original and ambitious' silent comedy

Matt Lucas; Comedian and actor (AP)

Comic Matt Lucas is to star in a silent comedy-style show for BBC1 - his first new character series without sidekick David Walliams.

Lucas will star in the dialogue-free six-part series Pompidou to be screened next year about an elderly aristocrat who falls on hard times.

He and Walliams have performed together for many years, including the hugely successful Little Britain, but they went their separate ways after one series of airport-based show Come Fly With Me.

Lucas said he had long been a fan of the "visual comedy" of veteran stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy.

The new BBC1 programme comes after the success of last year's Oscar hit The Artist about the golden age of pre-talkie movies.

For his new show, Lucas has created a new set of characters and the BBC said it would feature guest appearances from "some of the world's finest physical comedy performers".

He said: "I'm delighted to be back at the BBC with another show full of new characters - however, unlike Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, this one has no dialogue at all.

"I've always been a huge fan of the visual comedy of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and, of course, our very own Mr Bean.

"At the centre of it is Pompidou himself, an elderly aristocratic English oddball who has fallen on hard times but who remains upbeat and resourceful."

BBC1 controller Danny Cohen said: "Matt's new project is wonderfully original and ambitious. I can't wait to see what he and his talented team produce."

It is due to be screened late next year.

PA