Leigh Francis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leigh Francis
Francis as Keith Lemon at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in 2013
Birth name	Leigh Izaak Francis
Born	(1973-04-30) 30 April 1973 (age 52) Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Medium	Television
Genres	Character comedy impressions parody sketch
Spouse	Jill Carter ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2

Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973) is a well-known English television presenter, comedian, actor, and writer. He is often recognized by his famous character, Keith Lemon. Leigh Francis is best known for creating and starring in the Channel 4 sketch comedy show Bo' Selecta! (2002–2009). He also presented popular ITV shows like Celebrity Juice (2008–2022) and Through the Keyhole (2013–2019). Some of his other comedy shows include Lemon La Vida Loca (2012–2013) and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018).

Leigh Francis's Early Life

Leigh Francis was born in Beeston, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 30 April 1973. He grew up in Old Farnley, Leeds. His father passed away when he was 47 years old. His mother, Pat, is still alive.

Francis went to Farnley Park High School, which is now called The Farnley Academy. Later, he studied at Jacob Kramer College. There, he earned a qualification in graphic design. Before he became famous on television, presenter Davina McCall discovered and encouraged him. She saw him performing stand-up comedy in a club.

Davina McCall helped Leigh Francis get his first TV role. This was on a show called Dom and Kirk's Nite O' Plenty in 1996. He played a character named Bobby Stark. His next TV role was as Barry Gibson, a music paparazzo, on Channel 4's Popworld. Francis also played various characters, including Keith Lemon, in the show Whatever I Want in 2000.

Starting His Comedy Career

Early in his career, Leigh Francis made short videos for Comedy Central. These were called Stars in Their Houses. You can still find some of these videos on YouTube.

His big break came when Channel 4 offered him a large deal. They wanted him to create a show based on his TV characters. In 2002, Bo' Selecta! was launched. In this show, Francis played many celebrities by wearing face masks to impersonate them. He also played the main character, Avid Merrion. The show ran for five series between 2002 and 2006. The last two series were a bit different from the first three. Series 4 was called A Bear's Tail, focusing on another of his characters, The Bear. Series 5, called Bo! in the USA, brought back Avid Merrion.

After Bo' Selecta! ended, Francis took one of his characters, Keith Lemon, and created a new show. This was Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour, which aired on ITV2 in April 2008. The show was very popular. Because of its success, Francis created another show with Keith Lemon, called Celebrity Juice. This show ran for 26 series from 2008 to 2022. Keith Lemon also co-hosted Sing If You Can (2011) with Stacey Solomon. He also presented Keith Lemon's LemonAid (2012) on ITV.

Leigh Francis with Kelly Brook at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival

In 2012, he starred in his first movie, Keith Lemon: The Film, alongside Kelly Brook. Since then, Francis has presented or appeared in many other ITV2 shows as Keith Lemon. These include Through the Keyhole (2013–2019) and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018) with Paddy McGuinness. He also had a cameo role in Rocketman, a 2019 movie about Elton John.

Recent Work and Public Apology

Leigh Francis continues to create content for his YouTube channel. He posts sketches similar to those from Bo' Selecta! and other characters. In early 2024, Francis went on tour with his show My First Time.

He also competed on The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off in 2024. This was a special charity version of the show. He won the second episode of the seventh series. As of October 2024, he is starring in the West End production of Back to the Future the Musical in London.

In June 2020, Leigh Francis posted a video on Instagram. He apologized for how he had portrayed some black celebrities on Bo' Selecta!. He explained that he had been learning a lot and wanted to say sorry to anyone who was offended. He added the hashtag #blacklivesmatter.

His Characters and Interviews

In interviews, Leigh Francis often stays in character. From 2002 to 2006, he was interviewed as Avid Merrion during Bo' Selecta!'s run. Since then, he has usually appeared as Keith Lemon. In an interview with On: Yorkshire Magazine, Francis shared that Avid Merrion's accent was inspired by his old tutor at Jacob Kramer College. He also clarified that Merrion is a misspelling of his tutor's name, Laimonis Mieriņš. It has nothing to do with the Merrion Centre in Leeds. Francis has also given interviews as himself on shows like Loose Women and Sunday Brunch.

Shows and Films

Television

Film