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| Leigh Francis | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Francis as Keith Lemon at the66th British Academy Film Awards in 2013 | |
| Birth name | Leigh Izaak Francis |
| Born | (1973-04-30)30 April 1973 (age 51) Leeds,West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Medium | Television |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Genres | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
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 inChannel 4'ssketch comedy showBo' Selecta! (2002–2009) and presenting theITV showsCelebrity Juice (2008–2022) andThrough the Keyhole (2013–2019). His other comedy shows includeLemon La Vida Loca (2012–2013),The Keith Lemon Sketch Show (2015–2016), andThe Keith & Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018).
Francis was born inBeeston, Leeds,West Riding of Yorkshire, on 30 April 1973,[1] and was brought up on acouncil estate inOld Farnley,Leeds. His father died aged 47 ofcancer,[2] whilst his mother, Pat, is still alive.[3]
Francis attended Farnley Park High School (nowThe Farnley Academy). He later studied atJacob Kramer College and received a qualification ingraphic design. Before making his major television breakthrough, he was discovered and encouraged by television presenterDavina McCall, performing in-role stand-up comedy in a southern comedy club.[4]
McCall landed Francis his first television role onDom 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 onParamount Television from January to July 1996.[5] Francis' second television role was as Barry Gibson, a musicpaparazzo, featured on the early series ofChannel 4'sPopworld. Francis also starred as various characters, including Gibson, Keith Lemon andAvid Merrion in the seriesWhatever I Want, which aired late night on ITV in 2000.
In his early career, Francis did a series of shorts forComedy Central (then known as Paramount Comedy) calledStars in Their Houses. Some of the shorts can be found onYouTube.
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 subtitledA Bear's Tail, and was based on another of his characters,The Bear. Series 5 returned to Avid Merrion and was calledBo! in the USA.
Following the axing ofBo' 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 onITV2 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-hostedSing If You Can (2011) withStacey Solomon andKeith Lemon's LemonAid (2012) on ITV.
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In 2012, he was the protagonist in his feature film debut in the self-titledKeith Lemon: The Film, alongsideKelly Brook.[6]Francis has since presented and/or appeared in numerous other ITV2 programmes in character as Lemon, includingThrough the Keyhole (2013–2019),The Keith Lemon Sketch Show (2015–2016),The Keith & Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018), alongsidePaddy McGuinness andShopping with Keith Lemon (2019–2023).[7] Francis had a cameo inRocketman, the 2019Elton 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 inMy First Time.[11]
He competed onThe Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off (a charity special ofThe Great British 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]
On 30 October 2002, atAllerton Castle,North Yorkshire, Francis married Jill Carter, a beauty therapist. They have two daughters.[14][15]
On 4 June 2020, Francis apologised onInstagram, as himself, for his portrayal of various black celebrities onBo' Selecta!. In the video description he added "Followingrecent 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 byBo'selecta. I'm on a constant journey of knowledge and just wanted to say I'm deeply sorry.#blacklivesmatter".[16][17]
In interviews, Francis usually adopts one of his celebrity guises, being interviewed as Avid Merrion duringBo' Selecta!'s run between 2002 and 2006, and as Keith Lemon ever since. In an out-of-character interview withOn: Yorkshire Magazine, Francis confirmed Avid Merrion's accent and dialects were inspired by his former tutor atJacob Kramer College, Laimonis Mieriņš. He also pointed out Merrion is a misspelling of Mieriņš, and has nothing to do with theMerrion Centre in Leeds as some may have assumed.[18] Francis has also been interviewed as himself forThe Frank Skinner Show,Loose Women,Big Brother's Little Brother,The Museum of Curiosity,Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, andSunday Brunch.
| 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 | WithPaddy McGuinness |
| 2011 | Sing If You Can | Co–presenter | WithStacey 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 | WithAshley Roberts |
| 2024 | The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer | Contestant & Star Baker | Series 7 episode 2[19] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Keith Lemon: The Film | Himself | |
| 2019 | Rocketman | Pete | Cameo[20] |
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