Craig David has slammed the former comedy show Bo' Selecta! and called out its "racist" impression of him by comedian Leigh Francis.
Bo’ Selecta! ran on Channel 4 from 2002 to 2009. Fronted by Leigh Francis, it was a hit series based on celebrity caricature with deliberately ridiculous impressions all voiced by Francis. Craig David was one of the many sketches alongside Mel B, David Beckham and chat show host Trisha Goddard.
Channel 4 has since removed the programmes from its archives.
In an interview with The Times, the hit pop star has called out Francis and his comedy as "bullying". He said: "[Leigh] was highlighting characteristics he felt would trigger us personally. Every sketch felt personal.
"It felt like a vendetta and when it got a following, it became something that affected me. People would shout at me on the street and I felt the same feeling I had when I was bullied at school. Leigh Francis had normalised bullying by making it comedy.”
When David first heard of the show, he was intrigued. But when he sat down to watch with his mum, Tina, he felt confused. Francis wore a daft head of David’s vague likeness and portrayed him as an idiot with a colostomy bag. David was 21.
He slammed the programme further, calling out Francis' dressing up and 'blackface' makeup as "racist". “It was bullying across the board for everyone,” said David. “When he put blackface on, that was being racist.”
When Black Lives Matter protests took hold in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, Francis apologised for his previous behaviour including the black masks he wore on the show.
However David doubts the apology was sincere. He said: "We can all apologise when on the back foot. The moment of expressing his apology seemed very coincidentally timed. Has he reached out to any of the people he did on his show? He hasn’t reached out to me. Has he gone to communities to talk about bullying? Racism? And to be educated? You can only ask him.
“All I’ve seen since his apology is people still tweeting him thinking Bo’ Selecta! is fun and the tone of his response being very much still, ‘I’m the funny guy here’. That he still plays it like a joke after his apology tells me everything.”
In 2014, David was said to have spoken to Francis at Fearne Cotton's wedding, and resolved their differences. However, after suffering depression and negative thoughts, David realised the pain of Francis' impressions went deeper.
In 2009, the music star moved to Miami and began a focus on exercise and healthy living in a bid to get away from the caricature of an unhealthy David on Bo' Selecta! However, Davis' strict workout became an unhealthy obsession and in 2018 a severe back injury forced him to take a break.
Whilst resting, David reflected on the comedy of Bo' Selecta and its bullying. He explained to The Times : "I used to lean into an idea that [Bo’ Selecta!] was all funny. I’d laugh it off, or run from it.
"When you’re younger, you think you can ride through this but it chips away until . . . you’re in a really dark place. I knew things weren’t right. I was humiliated but had to appear all shiny and positive. I wasn’t ready to confront what that show had done to me.
“A lot of victims of bullying make excuses for the person bullying them but I don’t want to make excuses for him. He’s moved on. He has to put food on the table. He’s got family. But you know what? I’m not here to take anything away from him. I’m just showing that you, Leigh, need to be accountable for what you have done in a way that is more than just crying on social media.”
