Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), who is often known by the name of a character he plays, Keith Lemon, is an English television presenter, comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch comedy show Bo' Selecta! (2002–2009) and presenting the ITV shows Celebrity Juice (2008–2022) and Through the Keyhole (2013–2019). His other comedy shows include Lemon La Vida Loca (2012–2013), The Keith Lemon Sketch Show (2015–2016), and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018).
| Leigh Francis | |
|---|---|
 Francis as Keith Lemon at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in 2013 | |
| Birth name | Leigh Izaak Francis |
| Born | 30 April 1973 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Medium | Television |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Genres | |
| Spouse |
Jill Carter (m. 2002) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editFrancis was born in Beeston, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 30 April 1973,[1] and was brought up on a council estate in Old Farnley, Leeds. His father died aged 47 of cancer,[2] whilst his mother, Pat, is still alive.[3]
Francis attended Farnley Park High School (now The Farnley Academy). He later studied at Jacob Kramer College and received a qualification in graphic design. Before making his major television breakthrough, he was discovered and encouraged by television presenter Davina McCall, performing in-role stand-up comedy in a southern comedy club.[4]
McCall landed Francis his first television role on Dom and Kirk's Nite O' Plenty, where he portrayed Bobby Stark, a man who gives tips on how to win over the ladies. The series aired on Paramount Television from January to July 1996.[5] Francis' second television role was as Barry Gibson, a music paparazzo, featured on the early series of Channel 4's Popworld. Francis also starred as various characters, including Gibson, Keith Lemon and Avid Merrion in the series Whatever I Want, which aired late night on ITV in 2000.
Career
editIn his early career, Francis did a series of shorts for Comedy Central (then known as Paramount Comedy) called Stars in Their Houses. Some of the shorts can be found on YouTube.
His major television breakthrough occurred when Channel 4 offered him a £250,000 deal to produce a series based on his television characters, such as his previous roles as Bobby Stark and Barry Gibson, and in 2002, Bo' Selecta! was born. The series featured Francis portraying a series of celebrities by wearing face masks to impersonate them, as well as portraying the main, non-celebrity character, Avid Merrion. The programme lasted for five series, airing between 2002 and 2006, however, the last two series were only loosely based on the original three. Series 4 was subtitled A Bear's Tail, and was based on another of his characters, The Bear. Series 5 returned to Avid Merrion and was called Bo! in the USA.
Following the axing of Bo' Selecta!, Francis took one of the series characters, Keith Lemon, and created a brand new show, Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour, which aired on ITV2 in April 2008. The show was a success, and subsequently, Francis created another new show featuring Lemon, Celebrity Juice, which aired for 26 series between 2008 and 2022. Lemon also co-hosted Sing If You Can (2011) with Stacey Solomon and Keith Lemon's LemonAid (2012) on ITV.
In 2012, he was the protagonist in his feature film debut in the self-titled Keith Lemon: The Film, alongside Kelly Brook.[6] Francis has since presented and/or appeared in numerous other ITV2 programmes in character as Lemon, including Through the Keyhole (2013–2019), The Keith Lemon Sketch Show (2015–2016), The Keith & Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018), alongside Paddy McGuinness and Shopping with Keith Lemon (2019–2023).[7] Francis had a cameo in Rocketman, the 2019 Elton John biopic, playing a shop worker named Pete.[8]
Talking about a scrapped pilot for a Bo Selecta reboot, Francis retired the character of Keith Lemon, saying "Keith Lemon is, well, I'll never kill any characters off... I don't ever kill any characters off. Apart from if it's one that someone is really upset by. Then you don't do it anymore, because you only d**k about to put smiles on people's faces.".[9] Francis continues to producing content for his YouTube,[10] where he posts sketches in the vein of Selecta and other characters. In early 2024, Francis went on tour, starring in My First Time.[11]
He competed on The Great British Bake Off#The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off in 2024 where he won the second episode of the 7th series.[12] As of October 2024, he is starring in the West End Production of Back to the Future the Musical as Strickland at the London Adelphi Theatre.[13]
Personal life
editOn 30 October 2002, at Allerton Castle, North Yorkshire, Francis married Jill Carter, a beauty therapist. They have two daughters.[14][15]
On 4 June 2020, Francis apologised on Instagram, as himself, for his portrayal of various black celebrities on Bo' Selecta!. In the video description he added "Following recent events, I've done a lot of talking and learning and I would like to put this out there. I want to apologise to anyone that was offended by Bo'selecta. I'm on a constant journey of knowledge and just wanted to say I'm deeply sorry. #blacklivesmatter".[16][17]
Characterisation
editIn interviews, Francis usually adopts one of his celebrity guises, being interviewed as Avid Merrion during Bo' Selecta!'s run between 2002 and 2006, and as Keith Lemon ever since. In an out-of-character interview with On: Yorkshire Magazine, Francis confirmed Avid Merrion's accent and dialects were inspired by his former tutor at Jacob Kramer College, Laimonis Mieriņš. He also pointed out Merrion is a misspelling of Mieriņš, and has nothing to do with the Merrion Centre in Leeds as some may have assumed.[18] Francis has also been interviewed as himself for The Frank Skinner Show, Loose Women, Big Brother's Little Brother, The Museum of Curiosity, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, and Sunday Brunch.
Characters
editFilmography
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Comedy Café | Barry Gibson | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Whatever I Want | Himself | |
| 2002–2009 | Bo' Selecta! | Various Roles | Also writer
5 series |
| 2005 | A Bear's Tail | Bear | Also writer
1 series |
| 2008 | Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour | Presenter | |
| 2008–2022 | Celebrity Juice | 26 series | |
| 2009 | Let's Dance For Sports Relief | Contestant | With Paddy McGuinness |
| 2011 | Sing If You Can | Co–presenter | With Stacey Solomon |
| 2012 | Keith Lemon's LemonAid | Presenter | |
| 2012–2013 | Lemon La Vida Loca | Himself | Also writer
2 series |
| 2013–2019 | Through the Keyhole | Presenter | 6 series |
| 2015–2016 | The Keith Lemon Sketch Show | Various Roles | Also writer
2 series |
| 2015 | 1000 Heartbeats | Contestant | 1 episode |
| 2017–2018 | The Keith & Paddy Picture Show | Various Roles | Co-star with Paddy McGuinness
2 series |
| 2018 | Keith Lemon: Coming in America | Presenter | 1 series |
| 2019–2023 | Shopping with Keith Lemon | 4 series | |
| 2020 | The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft | 1 series | |
| Britain's Best Selling Toys | One-off special | ||
| How's Your Head, Hun? | Himself | Special guest
1 episode | |
| 2021 | The Holden Girls: Mandy & Myrtle | Myrtle Holden | 1 series |
| 2022 | The Real Dirty Dancing | Co-Presenter | With Ashley Roberts |
| 2024 | The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer | Contestant & Star Baker | Series 7 episode 2[19] |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Keith Lemon: The Film | Himself | |
| 2019 | Rocketman | Pete | Cameo[20] |
References
edit- ^ "Comedian Leigh Francis Leeds Keith Lemon Life Story Interview". 14 September 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Leonard, Tom (12 July 2005). "We grin and he bears it". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ Strong, Gemma (17 May 2021). "Keith Lemon shares very rare family photo with fans". Hello!. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "What is Celebrity Juice and Through the Keyhole star Keith Lemon's net worth?". uk.style.yahoo.com. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Keith Lemon's life: Davina McCall's link, his lovely wife, and his astronomical net worth » Brinkwire". Brinkwire. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Keith Lemon coming to the big screen for Keith Lemon: The Film". Flickering Myth. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ "ITV2 to broadcast new series Shopping With Keith Lemon". British Comedy Guide. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Keith Lemon Makes A Surprise Cameo In New Elton John Movie, 'Rocketman'". Capital FM. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ Brinsford, James (2 March 2024). "Leigh Francis' reboot of hit comedy series axed after he films first episode". The Mirror.
- ^ "Leigh Francis". YouTube.
- ^ Logan, Brian (11 March 2024). "Leigh Francis: My First Time review – cacophonously unfunny with the emphasis on cack". The Guardian.
- ^ "Leigh Francis Wins Star Baker". Stand Up To Cancer. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Wild, Stephi. "Photos: Leigh Francis Will Join BACK TO THE FUTURE; Plus a Look Backstage". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ^ Iley, Chrissy (26 April 2012). "Leigh Francis: 'I'm just not very good at being me'". The Times. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "Who is Keith Lemon's wife? See his sweet tribute and other info". Hello!. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Keith Lemon issues heartfelt apology for his TV show Bo' Selecta! in wake of Black Lives Matter protests". www.msn.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ Keith Lemon. "Following recent events, I've done a lot of talking and learning and I would like to put this out there. I want to apologise to anyone that..." Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Leigh Francis Interview". On: Yorkshire Magazine. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Grotesque Celebrity Bake Off cake designed after dismembered body part will give you nightmares". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Yes, that really was Keith Lemon having a cameo in Rocketman". amp.smoothradio.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022.