Leigh Francis

Leigh Francis — the man behind Keith Lemon, Avid Merrion and Bo’ Selecta! — joins Scarred for Life to talk about the things that genuinely scare him, the films that shaped him, and the strange experiences that have stayed with him for decades.

Leigh reveals his three scars: The Exorcist, frogs and long division. From watching The Exorcist as a child and being terrified by its demonic themes, to a childhood encounter with a frog that left him with a lifelong fear of amphibians, Leigh explains where some of his biggest fears came from.

He also talks about growing up obsessed with films, horror, comedy and physical media, getting into older-rated movies as a kid, and why 1970s horror still has a particular ability to unsettle him.

But this is also a conversation about the career behind some of Britain's most recognisable comedy characters. Leigh talks about creating Avid Merrion, the origins of Bo’ Selecta!, his love of celebrity culture, working on Through the Keyhole, Keith Lemon, Celebrity Juice, and how social media has completely changed the idea of celebrity.

There are stories about Star Wars, collecting movie memorabilia, famous clothes, Pamela Anderson, horror films, art college, long division, and why Leigh would much rather draw something than deal with numbers.

Leigh also talks about making things independently for YouTube, his Keith Lemon Forever channel and his Work Experience series — and explains why Keith Lemon is very much a fictional character rather than Leigh himself.

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Produced and edited by Nikki Druce @NikkiMacabreLondon

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