CONTROVERSIAL comedy by Bo’ Select! it was discontinued for good after a rebooted version failed to get the green light.
Entertainer Leigh Francis revealed today that he has shelved plans for the sketch show despite working on a new and rebranded pilot – 13 years after Channel 4 pulled it off the air.
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Keith Lemon star Leigh Francis has said he would never kill off a character – unless it upsets someone
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Famous stars attacked in his show Bo’ Selecta! which featured obsessive fan Avid Merrion meeting his favorite stars
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Leigh rose to fame as Keith LemonCredit: Getty
The comedy legend opened up to fans about his life’s work and upcoming projects as he traveled to Stoke for the final leg of his solo tour.
Speaking on Instagram, he said: “Keith Lemon is, well, I’m never going to kill any character. I’m never going to kill any character.
“Unless it’s something that makes someone really upset. Then you don’t do it anymore, because you’re just dying to put smiles on people’s faces.”
Fans were soon begging Leigh for updates on Bo’ Selecta!, and the comedian dutifully replied, “Bo’ Selecta!
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“The closest you’ll get to that is if you go on this tour.
“So if you’re craving a bit of rubber-masked silliness, here it is, in tour format.”
All 4 episodes of Bo Selecta removed in 2020 after backlash from celebrities such as Trisha Goddard and Craig David, who Leigh parodied using exaggerated latex masks.
But he raised hopes for the show’s return when he said Avid Merrion could be revived.
Leigh 2022: “Avid Merrion wanders about somewhere.
“However, he is a bit different, he has grown up. The Bear was also in the pilot. I don’t know if he will stay, everything is in the hands of the TV gods.”
Leigh Francis tearfully apologizes for playing black men in Bo Selecta
Leigh, known as Keith Lemon, suffered a number of blows last year after his shows Celebrity Juice and The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft were axed and his feud with Craig flared up again.
Leigh said: “I wish he wasn’t upset . . . we hugged and everything was nice, so I don’t know.”
He later cleared up the confusion following speculation that Bo Selecta was returning to screens.
Keith clarified last year: “Well, it’s not a reboot of Bo’ Selecta!, everyone keeps thinking it is. It wasn’t even called Bo’ Selecta!, it just had masked characters, it was more about Merrion being a time traveler .’
He continued, speaking of the pilot: “It was just a pilot, but since then we’ve been developing new ways of doing things, like, should he really be a time traveler, is that too much to imagine?”
Bo’Selecta! centers on obsessed fan Avid Merrion who tells viewers an eclectic mix of celebrity stories, interviews and gossip – with the help of Bears and rubber-masked celebrities.
And Leigh tearfully apologized to Craig, and Mel B and Trisha, in June 2020 for the way he caricatured black celebrities.
Speaking on the occasion of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, the devastated star said on social media: “It’s been a strange few days, I’ve been sitting and thinking about things and what I could post to try and help things.
“Back in 2002, I did a series called Bo Selecta, I played a lot of black people. I didn’t think anything about it then, people didn’t say anything, I won’t blame other people.
“Talking to some people, I didn’t realize how offensive it was at the time.”
He added: “I just want to apologise, I just want to apologize for any upset I’ve caused, whether it’s Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trisha Goddard, all people I’m a huge fan of. I guess we’re all on a learning journey .”
While promoting his book 2022, singer Rewinda Craig accused Keith’s apology of being “insincere”.
He said: “It comes at a time when George Floyd was killed.
“Then we would have the Black Lives Matter movement, protests around the world . . . and then it comes at some point as a reaction — ‘I should have my say’ for something that should never have been there.”
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Leigh plays his alter-ego Keith Lemon on television. He filmed a new pilot with characters from the sketch series Bo’ Selecta! Credit: Reuters
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Leigh also played Michael Jackson on Bo’ Selecta! Credit: Channel 4
Leigh dressed as Mel B in the show which first aired in 2002. Credit: ITV
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Francis as Avid Merrion – one of his many bizarre comic characters Credit: Reuters
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