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Comedian Matt Lucas throws a 'Tantrum' to highlight the global early years crisis

Comedian and presenter Matt Lucas has got behind Theirworld’s Act for Early Years campaign, launching a ‘Global Tantrum’ in protest at a lack of investment in the sector.
Comedian Matt Lucas has launched TheirWorld's 'Global Tantrum', SCREENGRAB: TheirWorld YouTube
Comedian Matt Lucas has launched TheirWorld's 'Global Tantrum', SCREENGRAB: TheirWorld YouTube

The former Great British Bake Off host has been filmed (see video below) 'barking orders' at a production crew and hurling furniture on set in new footage released today.

The Global Tantrum is part of the charity’s Act for Early Years campaign, designed to highlight the ‘crisis’ in early years care and provision around the world and call for investment to be made a priority.

It is hoped it will send a ‘strong’ message to world leaders that they are ‘ignoring and letting down’ the world’s youngest children by ‘failing to invest in care and education in the first few years of their life.’

Other celebrities are set to join the ‘Global Tantrum’ in the coming weeks, which will be played to the United Nations Assembly in New York in September to raise awareness among world leaders.

According to Theirworld, in 2018, G20 countries made a commitment to the world’s youngest children, but those have ‘gone off track’. It says as a result, ‘more than half of the world’s children – about 350 million – have no access to childcare and 175 million are not enrolled in pre-primary education.

Sarah Brown, chair of Theirworld, said, ‘Today the youngest children around the world are not being heard by world leaders, so we are taking on the tactics of the toddler and organising a Global Tantrum as a way of getting heard! It’s a fun campaign but on a serious issue.  

‘We need a global revolution in early years provision to ensure that all children get the best start in life. It is our responsibility to drive this change and give a voice to the millions of children currently being let down. It’s time to stand up for the early years, even if it means having a tantrum!’