Leigh Francis
Biography
Leigh Francis is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter who created and portrays the character Keith Lemon. Born in Leeds and raised in the city, he studied graphic design before performing in-role stand-up comedy and landing early television roles, including Bobby Stark on Dom and Kirk's Nite O' Plenty and Barry Gibson on Popworld. His major breakthrough came when Channel 4 commissioned Bo' Selecta!, a sketch show in which he wore face masks to impersonate celebrities and played Avid Merrion, which ran for five series from 2002 to 2006. He then created another show around Keith Lemon, Celebrity Juice, which ran for 26 series from 2008 to 2022, and presented Through the Keyhole from 2013 to 2019. His feature film debut was Keith Lemon: The Film (2012). He also had a cameo in Rocketman (2019).
53years old
Turns 54 on April 30in 170 days
- Born Leeds
- Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
- Also credited as Leigh Izaak Francis, Avid Merrion and Keith Lemon
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 11 years2012 to 2023
Every film, newest first
- 2023An Audience With KylieIMDb rating 7.7
- 2021TwistIMDb rating 4.3
- 2012Keith Lemon: The FilmIMDb rating 2.6
Genres
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Big break
Francis was discovered by television presenter Davina McCall while he performed in-character stand-up comedy at a southern comedy club, and she landed him his first television role.
Big break
Francis got his big television break when Channel 4 gave him a £250,000 deal to make a series from his television characters, including earlier roles as Bobby Stark and Barry Gibson. Bo' Selecta! arrived in 2002.
A change of course
Leigh Francis later attended Jacob Kramer College, where he received a qualification in graphic design before going on to his television career.
About the name
Francis based Avid Merrion's accent and dialects on his former tutor at Jacob Kramer College, Laimonis Mieriņš, and Merrion is a misspelling of that tutor's surname.
Leigh Francis movies on Netflix
Worked with
Leigh Francis made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Michael Caine's page
Lena Headey's page
Andrew Scott's page
David Hasselhoff's page
Noel Clarke's page
David Walliams's page
Paul AngunawelaDirector, 1 film, 2012
All films by Paul Angunawela
Martin OwenDirector, 1 film, 2021
All films by Martin Owen
Awards
One award and honor, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAFTA | |||
| 2016 | Best Entertainment Performance | Celebrity Juice | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.