beard

Matt Lucas has opened up about his new look, joking about his ‘bizarre’ beard

Matt Lucas appeared on Wednesday’s The One Show.

The actor, 52, was on the BBC One show, which also aired an emotional tribute to Dolly Parton, to talk about playing Fagin in Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver! for six weeks only at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End.

As well as Oliver!, Matt will also appear on Taskmaster alongside the likes of Richard Ayoade, Isy Suttie, Chloe Petts and Nina Conti.

Matt said of his new theatre role: “I’m growing this bizarre beard” to which host, JB Gill, said: “It looks good!” while co-host Clara Amfo, quipped: “Well, let’s talk about that. I don’t think we’ve ever seen you this way.”

This prompted Matt to admit: “Well, I’ve never ever tried. I grew a moustache for three weeks in the pandemic, but I mean, I, you know, I’ve talked about this before. I have alopecia. 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, so my aim is to keep growing it down to my ankles.

“And then when I’m at the football and it’s freezing in the winter. Wrap it as a scarf!” with Clara joking: “I love that. Function and fashion. Fantastic.”

Taking to Twitter, now X, viewers were also quick to comment on and praise Matt’s new look.

One person said: “Didn’t recognise Matt Lucas, quite a change since I last seen him. Looking good though. #theoneshow!”

A different viewer wrote: “Matt Lucas looks like a different person. #theoneshow” while another show watcher joked over how unrecognisable Matt looked: “They definitely said Matt Lucas was on #theoneshow tonight …. still waiting.”

Meanwhile, a different show watcher added: “Cant wait to see @RealMattLucas take on fagan in @OliverOnStage #theoneshow.”

It comes as Matt, who shot to fame on Little Britain and has more recently returned to the comic relief role of Thenardier in Les Miserables for the musical’s mammoth 40th anniversary celebrations, recently received his OBE for services to theatre.

The One Show airs on weeknights at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

ZZ Top legend Frank Beard has died at 77, the band confirmed on Tuesday.

The drummer had been forced to pull out of the band’s tour earlier this month due to health issues.

“Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas,” said ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons.

“His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.”

A representative for the Texas-formed band confirmed to USA Today that Frank died on Monday while in hospice.

The drummer was “with family members at his side” at his ranch in Richmond.

Frank dropped out of The Big One! Tour in early August due to health issues and had previously dropped out from touring with the band in March as he was undergoing a “health procedure.”

The band announced that their upcoming shows in Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City would be canceled.

However, the band plans to resume its current tour The Big One! this weekend, with the two shows at Austin City Limits music festival held at The Moody Theater.

The band, which formed in 1969, said the venue was “one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him.”

Beard was born on June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, and began playing in bands while still in high school.

He later became part of the Dallas music scene, where he met Dusty Hill, and the pair performed together in several 1960s groups including the Warlocks and American Blues.

In one of the stranger chapters of their early careers, Beard and Hill also played in a fake version of British rock band The Zombies that toured the US after the original group had broken up, Rolling Stone reported.

Beard has been part of ZZ Top for more than five decades and played on all 15 of the band’s studio albums.

He joined Billy Gibbons in 1969 and helped create the group’s classic lineup by introducing the guitarist to his former American Blues bandmate Dusty Hill.

The trio went on to become one of rock’s most recognizable acts, with Beard providing the beat behind hits including “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs.”

Beard, Gibbons and Hill remained together for more than 50 years until Hill’s death in July 2021 at the age of 72.

At the time, Gibbons and Beard announced that their longtime bandmate had died in his sleep at his Houston home.

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX,” they said.

They added, “You will be missed greatly, amigo.”

Hill’s longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis then took over bass duties and continued touring alongside Gibbons and Beard.

The Texas rockers found major success in the 1970s before exploding into the MTV era with their 1983 album Eliminator, which included “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs,” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’.”

Beard was famously the only member of the classic ZZ Top lineup who did not sport the huge beard that became part of the band’s signature look.

ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 after decades of success.

Beard had suffered previous health setbacks over the years, including pneumonia in 2019 and another unspecified health issue that forced him off the road in 2025.

His latest absence came after ZZ Top abruptly canceled its August 5 Hollywood Bowl show because of what the band called “unforeseen personnel matters.”

Michael Monahan was brought in to play drums while Beard stepped away, with Gibbons and Francis continuing the tour.

The cause of Beard’s death has not been publicly disclosed.

ZZ Top is mourning the loss of longtime drummer Frank Beard, who has died at age 77 after years of facing health-related issues.

The band announced Beard’s death on Tuesday via Instagram, with founding member and frontman Billy Gibbons writing in a statement that he and fellow member Elwood Francis “lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas.”

The Fort Bend County Medical Examiner confirmed to The Times that Beard’s death was reported Monday. A cause of death was not revealed. He died at his ranch in Texas with family by his side after a stay in hospice, TMZ reported.

Beard died weeks after ZZ Top called off its Aug. 5 concert at the Hollywood Bowl, reportedly due to his health issues. In March 2025, the Texas trio also shared that Beard would temporarily step away from the band’s Elevation tour to address a separate health issue, later revealed to be foot and ankle problems. The veteran drummer had also missed shows because of an emergency appendectomy in 2002.

ZZ Top said in Tuesday’s announcement that its concerts in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs have been canceled in the wake of Beard’s death. The band will continue its The Big One! tour this weekend, including two shows at Austin City Limits, which it said had become one of “Frank’s favorite venues in a city that had been something of a second home” for the drummer.

Beard joined ZZ Top in 1969, soon after the band formed, replacing founding drummer Dan Mitchell.

Times staff writer Andrea Flores contributed to this report.