Eternity rings for Little Britain star

On television's Little Britain, he famously claims to be 'the only gay in the village'.

Off screen, Matt Lucas has just exchanged eternity rings with his boyfriend Kevin McGee.

The pair wear the matching gold bands on their wedding fingers as a sign of commitment to each other and friends say they are considering a 'gay marriage' when the law changes in December.

'Matt and Kevin have no plans to get married just yet but they are considering making more of a commitment when the law changes at Christmas,' said a source close to the couple yesterday.

'The rings are a sign to outsiders that they consider their relationship to be for good.

'They are very happy together and this was just a way of taking their relationship a stage further.'

Ministers recently promised that laws allowing homosexuals to declare their 'civil partnerships' - conferring the legal privileges of heterosexual marriage - will come into force in December.

Lucas, 30, and McGee were pictured together for the first time waiting for a taxi outside their home in West Hampstead, North-West London.

The comic is not openly affectionate with the 28-year-old TV producer in public and does not pose for pictures with him at star-studded events.

But they have attended occasional public events together and were both at the launch of the new Doctor Who series in Cardiff on Tuesday night.

At the event, McGee was constantly at the comedian's side, dutifully stepping back when well-wishers stepped up to congratulate Lucas on his success.

Among celebrity circles, their relationship is more open.

Lucas invited his partner to George Michael's birthday party in Goring, Oxfordshire, last June.

McGee was also by the comic's side at his 30th birthday party in London last summer when Lucas dressed up as Hi-De-Hi chalet maid Peggy.

In private, Lucas nicknames his partner 'Baby Bedingfield' because of his resemblance to pop star Daniel Bedingfield.

Lucas has spoken of McGee only once, saying: 'I have a long-term partner. He's beardy at the moment. We call him Baby Bedingfield. I love him very much.'

Their relationship has certainly not harmed McGee's career prospects. When the couple met, he worked for Carbon Media, a branch of a larger television company called Princess Productions.

He is now newly- ensconced in the BBC's offices at Wood Lane where he works as a producer with the Comic Relief team.

Lucas also has strong links with Comic Relief. He was one of the main figureheads of this year's campaign, having first shown his support at the Comic Relief launch in London last month.

While Lucas appears happily settled, his Little Britain partner David Walliams has dated a string of women including Patsy Kensit, Denise Van Outen, Abi Titmuss and Jayne Middlemiss.