Actor and comedian Matt Lucas has had to pull out of Les Miserables mid-performance due to his voice “deserting” him.

The 51-year old English actor joined the Les Miserables-Arena Spectacular tour, and was performing in Australia when he could not continue for the second act during one of the shows.

In a post shared on Instagram on Friday, the comedian said that throughout his 30-year career he has never had to “bow out” during a performance.

He said: “I’ve been having a magical time in Les Miserables in arenas in Sydney and Melbourne.

“In over 30 years I’ve never had to bow out during a performance but tonight, as I was singing Master Of The House, I could feel my voice deserting me, so if Thenardier looked very different in Act 2, that was because the amazing Connor Jones took over.

“I’m now in bed resting up, and hope to be back on stage soon.”

Lucas portrays innkeeper Thenardier in the musical and began the Australian leg of the tour on April 30 in Sydney, with performances scheduled in Melbourne from May 14 until May 25 before moving to Brisbane.

Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas was forced to pull out of the show (Ian West/PA)

He is best known for the comedy sketch shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, which he co-wrote and starred in alongside David Walliams.

The pair now host a podcast together, Making A Scene With Matt Lucas And David Walliams, where the two comedians relive scenes from their famous guests’ lives while also discussing who would play them in a film, what kind of movie their life would be and if the hypothetical films would be a box office hit or a flop.

He was also a co-host on The Great British Bake Off but stepped down in December 2022 after presenting three series alongside fellow comedian and actor Noel Fielding.

Lucas recently appeared in the the Gladiator sequel starring Irish actor Paul Mescal and also joined the 2023 film Wonka, a prequel to the much-loved Roald Dahl story, which saw Timothee Chalamet play the title role.