Both created by the same woman

Nina Conti has revealed the esteemed provenance of the giant monkey costume she wore in her acclaimed film Sunlight.

The full-size version of the puppet she uses in her comedy ventriloquist act was actually made by the same team behind Chewbacca’s costume in the Star Wars films.

Speaking on Radio X this morning, she told breakfast show host Toby Tarrant about her emotional attachment to her simian sidekick. 

‘I have entered into that character’s headspace for 20 years or something,’ she said. ‘That's the liberated one; he’s uncensored, and that's the fun place to be! So, I ended up wanting to discard me. I was like, "Well, I'm monkey!" 

‘’I got the Star Wars people to make me a full-sized monkey, which I then got in. The lady who makes Chewbacca [Vanessa Bastyan] made him.’

‘I got in him and started doing stand-up in him. And then I made my film off the back of that whole experience.’

Sunlight is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

Tarrant was sitting in for Chris Moyles on the show that airs weekdays from 6:30am to 10am and on Saturday from 8am to 11am on Radio X and on YouTube

Published: 18 Jun 2026