Leigh Francis
| Leigh Francis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leigh Francis |
| Born | 30 April 1973 Old Farnley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England |
| Medium | Television |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Genres | Character comedy Impressions Parody Sketch |
| Subject(s) | Celebrity |
| Spouse | Jill Carter 2003-present |
| Notable works and roles | Bo' Selecta (2002–2006) Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour (2008) Celebrity Juice (2008–present) Keith Lemon's LemonAid (2012–present) Lemon La Vida Loca (2012-present) |
Leigh Francis (born 30 April 1973)[1] is an English entertainer, best known for creating Channel 4's Bo' Selecta! and portraying Keith Lemon in several ITV shows.
Early life
Francis was born on 30 May 1973 and brought up on a council estate in Old Farnley, Leeds. His father died aged 47 of cancer,[2] and his mother and sister live in Spain.[3] His grandparents were from the Burgenland area of Austria, hence his middle name, in honour of them. Francis attended Farnley Park High School (which later changed its name to Farnley Park Maths and Computing College and is now The Farnley Academy), formerly Harrington High School in Leeds. He later studied at the Leeds College of Art 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. 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. 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.
Personal life
Francis lives in Camden Town, London, and on 31 October 2003, at Allerton Castle, North Yorkshire, he married Jill Carter,[4] a beauty therapist. Their daughter, Matilda, was born in February 2009.[3]
Career
His major TV breakthrough occurred when Channel 4 offered him a £250,000 deal to produce a series based around his portrayal of 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. Season 4 was subtitled A Bear's Tail, and was based around another of his characters, The Bear. Season 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 has aired seven series to date. Lemon also co-hosted Sing If You Can with Stacey Solomon, and since 7 April 2012 he has hosted his new show Keith Lemon's Lemonaid on ITV1. In November 2011, it was revealed that Lemon would make his feature film debut in Keith Lemon: The Film, with production starting later that month.[5]
Characterisation
Francis is known to conduct almost every interview in 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 interview given in an episode of Comedy Map of Britain, Francis, for the first time out-of-character, claimed that Avid Merrion's accent and dialects were inspired by his former teacher at the Leeds College of Art, Laimonis Mierins. He also pointed out that Merrion is a misspelling of Mierins and is nothing to do with the Merrion Centre in Leeds, which many people assume. Many people do not understand that Merrion and Lemon are fictional creations, and consequently, Francis' name means very little to the general public. He did conduct further interviews as himself for The Frank Skinner Show, Loose Women, Big Brother's Little Brother and The Jonathan Ross Show.
Characters
References
- ^ Leigh Francis (@LeighFrancis) on Twitter. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-25.
- ^ We grin and he bears it. Telegraph.co.uk. (2005-07-12). Retrieved on 2012-05-25.
- ^ a b Leigh Francis: 'I'm just not very good at being me'. Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk (2012-04-26). Retrieved on 2012-05-25.
- ^ Marriages England and Wales 1984–2005. Findmypast.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-05-25.
- ^ Flickering Myth http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2011/11/keith-lemon-coming-to-big-screen-for.html