Keith Lemon

Last updated

Keith Lemon
Portrayed by Leigh Francis
DurationWhatever I Want (2000)
Bo' Selecta! (2002–06)
Celebrity Juice (2008–)
Lemon La Vida Loca (2012–13)
Through the Keyhole (2013–)
The Keith Lemon Sketch Show (2015–16)
The Keith and Paddy Picture Show (2017—) Keith Lemon: Coming In America (2018)
Created by Leigh Francis
In-universe information
Occupation Businessman
Television presenter

Keith Ian Lemon is a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Leigh Francis.

Contents

Background

In a 2006 interview with The Guardian , Leigh Francis said that Keith Lemon is loosely based on his best friend (whose name is also Keith Lemon). [1]

According to Francis, Lemon's background is that of a failed businessman who was most successful in 1993, when he won the prestigious Businessman of the Year award for his innovative creation, the "securi-pole". [2]

Career

2000–2002

Lemon was first portrayed in 2000 in the short-lived Whatever I Want, aired on ITV. The show also featured Francis' other two main characters, Avid Merrion, a Transylvanian celebrity stalker and Barry Gibson, a human incarnation of The Bear. All three characters were in very early stages of development, and in comparison to Francis' appearances in Bo' Selecta! and beyond, Lemon's actions and behaviour remain similar to, but are noticeably different from, those of the final personalities of the characters. An episode of this programme is available to view on YouTube.

2002–2007

Lemon first appeared as a recurring character in the Channel 4 impersonations series Bo' Selecta!, which was created and performed by Francis. [3] During the show's first series, aired in 2002, he made one appearance, which depicted himself in a trendy wine bar attempting to chat-up Tess Daly. Lemon later appeared in the third series of Bo' Selecta!, where he was introduced in a regular role as the agent of Avid Merrion, the main character, also played by Francis, after Avid gets himself his own television show. Lemon's face was not shown to camera during this series, but was instead obscured by various objects in the manner of Wilson from Home Improvement .

Lemon also appeared in the Bo' Selecta! spin-off A Bear's Tail, which focused entirely on the character of The Bear. In the series, he became the neighbour of the Hennerson family, who adopted The Bear after they ran him over. Lemon developed a friendship with Patsy Kensit, who played the character of Mrs. Hennerson, during the series. Lemon later appeared in the fourth and final series of Bo' Selecta!, which was set in the United States. In this series, he featured in a regular role when he became the American ambassador.

2008–2009

Following the conclusion of Bo' Selecta!, Lemon re-appeared in his own spin-off series on ITV2, entitled Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour . [4] The programme depicted Lemon flying to six different countries around the world, in a shark-shaped flight plan, meeting various celebrity guests along the way. The series premiered on 11 March 2008 on ITV2, and pulled in very successful ratings.

In August 2008, it was announced that Lemon would return to ITV2 with his own comedy panel show, Celebrity Juice . The format of the show involves two teams of celebrities, who battle it out to see which team know the most about the past week's news. [5] The series began airing in September 2008, featuring regular team captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton, as well as regular panellist, Rufus Hound. The series popularised his quotes "Ooosh, Bang Tidy!" and "I'd smash your back doors in!", which first became known during his time on Bo' Selecta!, and also introduced his end-of-episode catchphrase, "If I don't see ya' through week, I'll see ya' through window".

The series also featured sketches involving his Bo' Selecta! guises, and also featured a round in which The Bear questioned a mystery celebrity regarding his or her life. The series was successful enough for a second season to be commissioned, however, all references to Bo' Selecta! were ordered to be removed, as they were in copyright breach of Channel 4, who originally aired the series.

In October 2008, Lemon made numerous appearances on the Big Brother companion shows Big Brother's Little Brother and Big Brother's Big Mouth , as a celebrity guest discussing the action in the house, and as the host of public phone-in competitions. In February 2009, Lemon appeared as a contestant with fellow comedian Paddy McGuinness on the first series of the charity competition Let's Dance for Comic Relief . Their performance of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing made them the runners-up of the series. Shortly after, the second series of Celebrity Juice premiered, featuring a selection of big name guests, including Tito Jackson.

2010

In March 2010, Lemon made several appearances on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! companion show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! with host Caroline Flack. Shortly after, the third series of Celebrity Juice began broadcasting featuring two special episodes: the Girls Night Out special and a BBC Radio 1 vs. This Morning special. In July 2010, Lemon recorded a fitness DVD with Australian fitness instructor Deanne Berry. Since being released, the DVD, entitled 'Keith Lemon's Fit', has sold over 50,000 copies.

In August 2010, Lemon worked as an agony uncle on This Morning, alongside Celebrity Juice colleague Holly Willoughby. In September 2010, the fourth series of Celebrity Juice began broadcasting featuring several special episodes, including a TV stars special, an episode dedicated to McFly, an episode dedicated to N-Dubz, an episode dedicated to The X Factor , an episode dedicated to Coronation Street , and an episode dedicated to JLS. The fourth series also revealed further details about Lemon, including his belief that he is the son of Billy Ocean, and that all Irish people should be referred to as a "potato", a quote frequently referred to when discussing Jedward, Louis Walsh or any other Irish personalities. That year, Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour was released on DVD.

2011

In February 2011, Lemon became the executive producer of This Morning for a week of special episodes, taking over from the absent Karl Newton. He also appeared as a member of the judging panel on the third series of Let's Dance for Comic Relief . Both series five and six of Celebrity Juice were broadcast during the year. Special episodes during the year included an Up the Duff special, a Pop music special, an episode dedicated to the Royal Wedding, a Coronation Street vs. Emmerdale special, a Back to School special, a Girl on Girl special, an episode dedicated to Ant & Dec, and an I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! special. The sixth series also introduced another of Lemon's infamous activities, "Motting".

In March 2011, Lemon hosted six episodes of ITV game show Sing If You Can with Stacey Solomon, after original intended host Vernon Kay pulled out. [6] In June 2011, Lemon filmed a pilot for a possible ITV prime time series, entitled The Bang Tidy Show. The description of the pilot was as follows: "While there's all the usual celebrity guests from hit series Celebrity Juice, there's also a talking Orangutan, a door that leads to anywhere, audience games and prizes, a supermarket in the future staffed by old celebrities, and you, the audience, can ask Keith anything you want! Each episode will also finish with Keith performing with his celebrity guests." [7]

Although the pilot was not commissioned, the idea for the latter production Lemonaid was born. In September 2011, Lemon made his first ever public appearance, when he switched on the Blackpool Illuminations in a special ceremony. On 21 November 2011, the first Celebrity Juice DVD was released, entitled Celebrity Juice: Too Hot for TV. During the year, Lemon also promoted Tacheback, a campaign to raise awareness of male cancer. [8]

2012

In Spring 2012, Lemon starred in an episode of Mad Mad World . The seventh series of Celebrity Juice began on 9 February 2012, featuring five special episodes: the Hunks special, Girls on Top special, Coronation Street vs. EastEnders special, an Irish special and a Pop Music special. Thus far, the seventh series has received some of ITV2's highest ratings ever. On 11 February, Lemon featured as one of three members of the judging panel on tan episode of Let's Dance for Sport Relief .

On 14 February, Lemon co-presented the backstage coverage of the 2012 BRIT Awards with RTÉ presenter Laura Whitmore. On 18 February, Lemon, Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton were guests on The Jonathan Ross Show , where they gave a candid interview about their time on Celebrity Juice, and also played a pair of studio games with Ross. On 19 March, Lemon fronted a special edition of Celebrity Juice for the Sport Relief telethon, which featured swimmer Mark Foster appearing in a special round.

On 7 April, Lemon's six-part Jim'll Fix It -style series for ITV, Keith Lemon's Lemonaid premiered. In the series, Lemon travelled up and down the country to meet his fans, and solve people's problems using his own tongue-in-cheek manner. Every episode also included a celebrity guest and a musical performance, as well as studio games in which the audience have the chance to win some prizes. In August 2012, Lemon released his own feature-length film, openly titled Keith Lemon: The Film . It features acting performances by Kelly Brook and Verne Troyer, as well as cameo appearances by David Hasselhoff, Billy Ocean, Peter Andre, Gary Barlow, Tinchy Stryder, Jedward and Fearne Cotton.

From 2012 until 2013, Lemon starred in two series of his own ITV2 show, called Lemon La Vida Loca , which centred on his relationship with his girlfriend Rosie (Laura Aikman). In 2012, Lemon was nominated for the National Television Award for "Most Popular Entertainment Presenter" but lost out to Ant & Dec.

Lemon made a guest appearance in the Christmas edition of Take Me Out in December 2012.

Since 2013

Since August 2013, Lemon has hosted a revived series of Through the Keyhole , broadcast on Saturday evenings on ITV. [9] [10] As of 2017, five series of the show have aired.

In 2015 and 2016, Lemon starred in two series of his ITV2 sketch show The Keith Lemon Sketch Show . [11] [12]

In December 2015, he appeared as a contestant in a Text Santa edition of 1000 Heartbeats . In May 2014, Lemon appeared in an advertisement for Hooper's Hooch. He currently appears in TV adverts for Carphone Warehouse.

In 2016, the character underwent a dramatic change in appearance, and now sports a hipster beard and a man bun. He no longer appears to dye his hair blond, and is fully ginger.

Lemon co-stars alongside Paddy McGuinness in the ITV comedy series The Keith and Paddy Picture Show . [13] The first series began on 6 May 2017 and the second series began on 4 April 2018.

In 2018, Lemon starred in his ITV2 series called Keith Lemon: Coming in America. [14]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<i>Through the Keyhole</i> British comedy panel show (1987–2019)

Through the Keyhole is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter goes around celebrities' houses and a panel of other celebrities in the studio try to guess who the famous homeowner is.

<i>Bo Selecta!</i> Television series

Bo' Selecta! is a British television sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 until 2009 and lampooned popular culture, becoming known for its often surreal, abstract toilet humour. Season 4 was known as A Bear's Tail while season 5 shifted filming to the United States and was called Bo! In the USA. The show comedy sketches of characters played by Francis, with minor support roles over the years played by Craig Phillips, Caroline Flack, Ozzey Rezat, Patsy Kensit, Karen Hayley, Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Dexter Fletcher, Sean Pertwee, Luis Fernandez-Gil and Robert Stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tess Daly</span> British TV presenter

Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddy McGuinness</span> English actor, comedian and television presenter

Patrick Joseph McGuinness is an English actor, comedian and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of Peter Kay, who invited him to appear in his programmes That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. He is best known for his roles within Channel 4, ITV and the BBC presenting game shows such as Take Me Out as well as, since 2019, being one of the three hosts of BBC's Top Gear. In 2021, he became the new host of Question of Sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Francis</span> British actor and comedian

Leigh Izaak Francis, known professionally as Keith Lemon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. 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–present) 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).

June Konadu Sarpong is a British television presenter and executive. She was a panellist on ITV's Loose Women and is currently a panellist on the Sky News programme The Pledge. In November 2019, Sarpong was appointed as the BBC's first Director of Creative Diversity.

The Bear is a fictional character who originated in the British adult sketch comedy, Bo' Selecta!. He is a rude teddy bear who is a social outcast and engages in cursing and womanizing. He like berries and always wears black glasses. He had a sidekick, a squirrel named Steven, whom he had a love-hate relationship with.

<i>Keith Lemons Very Brilliant World Tour</i>

Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour is a travel-style comedy series hosted by Keith Lemon, a character portrayed by comedian Leigh Francis. The series was first announced during an appearance by Lemon on the Big Brother companion show Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2007. The show premiered on 11 March 2008, attracting 565,000 viewers, and concluded on 15 April 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vernon Kay</span> British television presenter

Vernon Charles Kay is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's T4 (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including All Star Family Fortunes (2006–2015), Just the Two of Us (2006–2007), Beat the Star (2008–2009), The Whole 19 Yards (2010), Splash! (2013–2014), and 1000 Heartbeats (2015–2016).

<i>Celebrity Juice</i> British television comedy panel game

Celebrity Juice is a British television comedy panel game on ITV2, broadcast since 24 September 2008. The show is written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon, and its current team captains Laura Whitmore and Emily Atack. The format for the series was first suggested in 2007, after the final series of Leigh Francis' Channel 4 sketch show Bo' Selecta!. ITV approached Francis to create a show featuring his alter-ego Keith Lemon, and after the success of the five-part series Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour, the channel commissioned Celebrity Juice. The original premise of the show was to see which team knows most about the week's tabloid news stories, although later series focus more on the comedy factor of the participating celebrity guests and games involving them, rather than discussing the week's news.

<i>Text Santa</i> British TV series or program

Text Santa was a charity initiative set up in 2011 by ITV to support UK-based charities during the Christmas period. The appeal to the public is to donate money mainly via text donation and profits from merchandise. The telethons have been hosted by popular ITV presenters including Phillip Schofield, Christine Bleakley, and Ant & Dec. The 2015 appeal show was the last after ITV decided to axe the show to make way for an all-year appeal.

<i>Keith Lemons LemonAid</i> Television series

Keith Lemon's LemonAid is a British television entertainment series hosted by comedian Leigh Francis as his character Keith Lemon. It aired on ITV from 7 April to 19 May 2012. Each week, with the help of a celebrity guest, Lemon makes people's dreams come true. He calls himself "The Dream-Meckah!".

<i>Whatever I Want</i> 2000 British television sketch show

Whatever I Want is a six-part British television sketch show, written by and starring Leigh Francis, that first broadcast on ITV on 7 January 2000. Commissioned by Bellyache Productions, and overseen by Gavin Claxton, the series featured early prototypes of the characters of Keith Lemon and Avid Merrion, as well as a human version of The Bear known as Barry Gibson, who had previously appeared as a roving reporter during the early series of Channel 4's Popworld.

<i>Lemon La Vida Loca</i>

Lemon La Vida Loca is a British mock reality show created and written by, and starring, comedian Leigh Francis and actress Laura Aikman. The show's title is derived from Ricky Martin's 1999 hit single, "Livin' la Vida Loca".

<i>The Keith Lemon Sketch Show</i> Television series

The Keith Lemon Sketch Show is a British television impressions/character sketch show that aired on ITV2 from 5 February 2015 until 10 March 2016. It stars Leigh Francis' character Keith Lemon portraying several celebrities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Davis (British actor)</span> British actor and comedian (born 1979)

Tom Davis is an English actor and comedian best known for his role as DI Sleet in the BBC Three comedy Murder in Successville, and as Gary King (Jr) in the BBC sitcom King Gary.

<i>The Keith & Paddy Picture Show</i> British ITV comedy parody series 2017–18

The Keith and Paddy Picture Show is a British comedy parody series, written by and starring Leigh Francis and Paddy McGuinness, first broadcast on ITV on 6 May 2017. The series is billed as a "comedic tribute" to some of Lemon and McGuinness' favourite films. Each week they attempt to recreate an iconic film, with the help of a celebrity cast.

References

  1. ↑ "'We're just mucking about'". The Guardian . 11 October 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Unofficial Keith Lemon Fansite!. Keith Lemon. Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  3. ↑ Bo' Selecta!. Channel 4. Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  4. ↑ Keith Lemons Very Brilliant World Tour. Keithlemon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  5. ↑ Keith Lemon Video Clips. Keithlemon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  6. ↑ Keith Lemon replaces Kay on 'Sing If You Can' – TV News. Digital Spy (2011-03-30). Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  7. ↑ Keith Lemon to film 'Bang Tidy Show' pilot – TV News. Digital Spy (2011-06-16). Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  8. ↑ TacheBack merges Movember. Tacheback.com (2013-01-31). Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  9. ↑ "Keith Lemon to revive Through the Keyhole on ITV".
  10. ↑ Guide, British Comedy (13 January 2013). "Keith Lemon to present Through The Keyhole revival".
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ Jefferies, Mark (21 August 2014). "New Keith Lemon Sketch Show will send up Harry Styles".
  13. ↑ Guide, British Comedy (24 November 2016). "ITV orders The Keith And Paddy Picture Show".
  14. ↑ "Keith Lemon plans to crack the US with new reality show". 3 October 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.