"We always hoped the show would make it on to TV," says Matt Lucas.

"It was always conceived as both a radio and TV show. We were keen for the TV transfer to be a show in its own right, though, and not seem like it was a show which used to be on radio."

Comedy works in mysterious ways, as Lucas and partner-in-crime David Walliams have discovered. After meeting at the National Youth Theatre in 1990 through a shared love of Reeves and Mortimer, they first performed together at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995.

Establishing themselves through shows such as Rock Profile and Shooting Stars, their talents were largely showcased on digital television, rarely breaching the gap between cultish adoration and mass enthrallment.

Little Britain began on Radio 4 but was transferred to television following critical acclaim and a pilot episode explaining that "British justice is the best in the world. Anyone who disagrees is either a gay, a woman or a mental".

With an armoury of similarly skewed takes on British life, the show has since been propelled into mainstream consciousness, disgusting and delighting critics at every grotesquely absurd step. Overflowing with ridiculous scenarios, from rubber-clad "homosexualists"

to sinister weight-loss classes, its ludicrously exaggerated sketches induce a ghastly sense of familiarity at the decaying state of the nation.

"In truth, I don't think we would have written the sketch if we didn't think Tony Blair was a bit dishy,"

admits Walliams about the saga of Sebastian, the Prime Minister's lustful assistant.

"Just step out of your house, she's everywhere," says Lucas when questioned about Vicky Pollard, the slouching teenager in her pink tracksuit who is always left blathering sulkily in defence of her pathetic behaviour.

The catchphrases of Pollard and her hideous fellow Britons have attracted record-breaking audiences, leading to a sell-out tour for the camp, cross-dressing duo.

"We used to perform at the Edinburgh Festival at midnight and had all sorts of hecklers but we always took them on," declares Lucas fearlessly.

"Dave always says I look more convincing as a lady."