Lucas in mourning after ex-partner's suicide

Published on Tuesday 6 October 2009 22:23

MATT Lucas, the Little Britain star, has cancelled his role in a West End play "until further notice" following the suicide of his former partner.

The comedian had been due to play Kenneth Halliwell in Prick Up Your Ears, a violent story which climaxes as he bludgeons his lover to death and prepares to take his own life. In a painful echo, his ex-partner, Kevin McGee, was found hanged in his Edinburgh flat on Monday morning after posting a message on the internet that said "Kevin McGee thinks death is much better than life".

The producers of the play, being staged at the Comedy Theatre in central London, said: "Our thoughts are with Matt."

Police found Mr McGee's body at the flat in Bruntsfield Gardens after they broke in at 8am on Monday morning. The television producer, who "wed" Lucas, 35, in December 2006, had posted the message on Facebook three hours earlier. He is understood to have had a problem with drug addiction which, according to friends of the couple, drove them apart. He had arrived in Edinburgh to study for a degree.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

According to reports, police were alerted by a friend.

The couple met before Lucas hit new heights with the BBC comedy series Little Britain. They tied the knot in a civil partnership ceremony and celebrated with a panto-themed reception, with guests including Elton John, Will Young and Paul O'Grady.

Their relationship broke up in 2008 and their union was officially dissolved in January this year. The separation was described as "amicable".

Yesterday afternoon, Lucas was being comforted at home by David Walliams, his Little Britain partner. Earlier, the television presenter Dale Winton offered his condolences when he arrived at Lucas's home with a sympathy card.